1 week ago
23
Craig Kerry
May 7, 2026 — 5:00pm
Keen to grow his Rosehill stable off the back of his Golden Slipper win with Guest House, trainer Mick Price believes Zambardo, with the right run, can add to his operation’s NSW profile on Saturday in the $500,000 The Coast (1600m) at Gosford.
Price and co-trainer Michael Kent jnr have two runners in the rich listed race for three and four-year-olds, and Zambardo ($5.50) looms as a top contender after a remarkable first preparation in Australia after thirds in two New Zealand runs.
Last spring, the four-year-old went from a maiden win on the synthetic Southside Pakenham track to wins at Sale, Sandown and Caulfield before a runner-up finish to champion mare Via Sistina in the group 1 MacKinnon Stakes on heavy going.
He resumed with ninth in a benchmark 100 handicap (1400m) at Randwick on April 18 when making up ground late from back in the field and a wide gate.
Price had Zambardo nominated for the Hollindale Stakes at the Gold Coast on Saturday but opted for Gosford as a lead in to the group 1 Doomben Cup in two weeks. He was happy to avoid the tighter Gold Coast track but said a draw in gate 10 meant Zambardo would likely be ridden back again.
“He was good first-up, he was strong through the line, and we’ll probably have to ride him patiently again, but the horse is going great, and I think he will be motoring into it late,” Price said.
“We bought him to be a nice horse, and we had a few difficulties with him early because he had to have a minor throat procedure, but it was the making on him and he’s grown into a nice, big strong horse.
“A typical Kiwi, the good ones get better as they get older and I think he’s in that category.”
The remarkable spring run rocketed Zambardo to a rating of 103, but Price believed the versatile galloper could live up to the mark in his second campaign.
“The owners got paid $500,000 to run second to Via Sistina, so they had a good opinion of him,” he said.
“Sometimes I get a bit bored going through the grades and if I’ve got a feel on one, and I had a good feel on him, and now he’s going to run in some good races.”
The stable also has On Display in The Coast, but Price was unsure if she would back up after a busy schedule. She was less than two lengths away when a luckless ninth in the Queen of the South last start at Morphettville, which came after finishing last at Caulfield.
“She gets a good track, a nice gate, but it’s a bit of a trip to Adelaide, back to Melbourne and then to Sydney, but I’ll pull some blood before she races and if she copes with the travel well, she’ll run,” he said.
“If not, she will probably have a spell.”
Price said there had been “a little bit” of flow-on support for his stable from his Slipper win seven weeks ago and Guest House had begun light treadmill work ahead of a spring campaign aimed at a possible Everest tilt. He was aiming to get more boxes at Rosehill.
“Owners have been pretty good to us,” he said.
“I’ve still got a lot money outstanding on yearlings, but we are chipping away at that. We got a lovely Extreme Choice colt off Henry Field from Newgate the other day, so it’s good.
“We’ve got 18 boxes at Rosehill and we’re looking forward to increasing those numbers in quantity and quality. We’ve got a very good man there in Ben Elam. I love training horses at Rosehill and it will get better and better over time.”
