Zethus returned to his best form when he showed typical speed possessed by the progeny of super stallion Exceed And Excel at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Saturday, 26 November.
After two fair runs in Stakes grade in Melbourne, Zethus began well from a wide gate and crossed to sit outside the flying Sneaky Paige in the Listed Starlight Stakes over 1,100m.
Jockey Tim Clark then asked Zethus to extend and the four-year-old raced to the front before holding off Sky Command and Fox Fighter in a slick 1 minute 2.91seconds, to record his third win from 11 starts for Godolphin head trainer James Cummings.
It was Zethus’s second Black-Type victory, coming 22 months after beating subsequent G1 winner Home Affairs in the G3 Canonbury Stakes at Rosehill.
Out of the Australian mare Melpomene, Zethus is a full brother to dual Stakes winner Calliope and he has unraced half-sisters by Astern, Harry Angel and Bivouac.
The gelding took his prize money earnings to $332,000 and provided his sire with his 374th Stakes-race success.
Exceed And Excel youngsters Sky On Fire and Barber have won feature two-year-old races in New Zealand and Australia in recent weeks, while Mischief Magic saluted in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (1,100m) in Kentucky just three weeks ago.
A dual G1 winner during a racetrack career that yielded six wins in Stakes company, Exceed And Excel has had 1,709 winners of 5,699 races worldwide for prize money winnings of just under $248 million.
Exceed And Excel spearheads the stallion roster at Darley’s spacious Kelvinside property in the NSW Hunter Valley, standing at a service fee of $132,000 (GST inclusive).
A Group winner at 2, the now 4YO Zethus has produced too much firepower to capture the Listed @DrinkWiseAus Starlight S. at @rosehillgardens. Among 205 stakes winners for Exceed And Excel, the @godolphin bred & raced Zethus is a full brother to Group 2 winning 2YO Calliope. pic.twitter.com/mKz2cxLpPH
— Aushorse (@Aushorse_TBA) November 26, 2022
