Zabeel Dynasty

      It all started way back in 1976 when Sir Patrick Hogan purchased a stallion from England for his Cambridge Stud. That stallion was the fiery, Sir Tristram and while he was in quarantine, on his way, to the farm . There was a huge fire which killed numerous thoroughbreds but Paddy as he was affectionately known ,survived the fire and eventually made it to the farm, on arriving, his service fee was set at $1200 but by 1997 , it had jumped to $200,000. He would go on to sire 45 group 1 winners but more importantly sire the great Zabeel. Paddy was born on April 7th 1971 and Patrick Hogan tells the story of his passing in the paddock after an accident in 1997 and how he cradled the old horse in his arms with his son Zabeel, watching on, in the next paddock. He had sired three Melbourne Cup winners by then, Gurners Lane, Empire Rose and Brew. He was buried standing up facing the morning sun in the horseshoe garden in front of the stables at Cambridge Stud. 

 The Graves of Sir Tristram and his son Zabeel

   The son, Zabeel was born October 25th 1986 from a mating with the Nureyev mare ,Lady Gizelle. I remember seeing him race and the headaches he used to give barrier attendants. He was a fiery customer, like his dad, he hated those barriers, he just wanted to run and when they opened, he was off. Jockeys had trouble restraining him and in the end they were forced to let him run. He went on to win seven races including the Australian Guineas. He always passed this on to his progeny and a jockey who knew them really well, Jimmy Cassidy. Jim's association with Zabeels son, Might and Power who was from his second crop is a good example of great horsemanship. Jim would let him roll and break their hearts. He would always find extra reserves of energy at the end of his races and the 1997 Melbourne Cup was an awesome, showing of this. Zabeel had a phenomenal record, producing 44 group 1 winners. When Octagonal from Zabeel's first crop won the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes, to Preferment's win in the 2014, Victoria Derby, one of his sons or daughters was winning races at the highest level every year through to 1995. His progeny have won three Melbourne Cups, three Caulfield Cups and four Cox Plates. His champions include Octagonal, Might And Power and the unbeaten Reset. Zabeel dominated stallions awards being twice champion Australian sire, four-time champion New Zealand sire and won the NZ Dewar Trophy for combined NZ and Australian earnings 15 times. He was also Australia and New Zealand's champion broodmare sire three times each.

1997 Melbourne Cup 

Might and Power

                                                         Octagonal Lonrho and Pierro

    Octagonal was another of his sons, the Big O as he was affectionately known, was born on 8th October 1992 . He was out of the champion broodmare Eight Carat, who also produced Group One winners, Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and Our Marquise. Octagonal retired to stud after 28 starts with a record of 14 wins 10 Group 1. He ended his racing career with a stakes tally of $5,892,231, the highest of any galloper in Australasia to that point. Octagonal was euthanized on 15 October 2016 at the age of 24 years at Woodlands Stud near Denman in the NSW Hunter Valley. He was buried next to his fellow stallion and racing mate, Canny Lad.

 The Grandson Lonrho

 A Champion three-year-old, a Champion miler, and Horse of the Year. Lonhro was foaled on December 10, 1998 was named after the London and Rhodesian Mining Company which began operating in Africa in 1909 . Nicknamed "The Black Flash", he was from the first crop of the champion Octagonal out of the Group One-placed Shadea by Straight Strike. Sire of 68 Stakes winners, including G1 Golden Rose hero Exosphere in 2015 and South African star The Conglomerate in 2016. Lonhro raced from two to five years of age and won 26 races, including 25 stakes races, ranging in distance from 1,100 to 2,000 metres. These included 11 Group One wins and 18 wins at weight-for-age. Now a Champion sire with his son Pierro, unbeaten juvenile Triple Crown winner, and was rated the best juvenile colt in Australia since 1977. While recently his son, Kementari was the winner of the Group 1 Randwick Guineas, is now ranked amongst the top ten gallopers, in the world. 

Lonrho winning the Australian Cup

Great Grandson Pierro

Top Victorian trainer , Cindy Alderson -- On the Zabeels and Sky Heights, his son who won the ATC Derby and the Caulfield Cup. "They were incredibly muscular and imposing looking horses. Sky Heights was an unbelievably charismatic horse. He would puff himself up once he got off the horse float at a race meeting. He was a big horse anyway at 16.3 hands but he would inflate himself on race day. I remember there would be people commenting on how huge he was." "We used to go down to the stables to get the horses out of their boxes at around 3am each morning and Sky Heights would have to be let out first. He would be kicking his box in or switching the light switch on and off continuously with his head. We would worry that he may knocked the building down or electrocute himself.