ZELZAL did not make it to the racecourse at the age of two, but the patience shown with him was rewarded when, at three, he won four of his six starts, culminating with a Group 1 success in the Prix Jean Prat over a mile. Three of his four wins were at a mile, the other being over just half a furlong loss.

A son of Sea The Stars (Cape Cross), he went to stud at Haras de Bouquetot where his fee was €8,000 for two seasons, dropping by €1,000 for each of the last two years. Zelzal welcomed his first runners this season, and that crop now contains six individual winners, with last weekend’s Listed Prix Saraca heroine Zelda giving him his first stakes winner. Zelda has now won three of her four starts for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget.