Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
In an impressive debut at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, the regally bred blueblood filly Clean Energy (Zoustar), trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, hinted at her potential. Purchased for $2.6 million by Yulong, Clean Energy is a full sister to the Triple Group 1 winner Sunlight.
Under the guidance of jockey Adam Hyeronimus, Clean Energy outclassed her rivals over 1000 metres, finishing 2l ahead of Jellicious (Snitzel) and Lady Shenandoah (Snitzel). Adrian Bott expressed post-race, “The Heavy 10 was a variable we didn’t anticipate, so I don’t think we saw the best of her (Clean Energy) today (Wednesday). I think she’s a better filly on top of the ground, but we backed her class and hoped she’d be able to get the job done."
Hyeronimus, nearly lost for words, praised Clean Energy's performance, stating, “She’s fantastic. I’m very pleased, but we expected that; besides the Heavy track, we were very confident she’d come here and win. Clean Energy has shown a lot of ability at home; there's no reason she can’t win stakes races as a 2-year-old and improve as a 3-year-old.”
For Yulong, the $2.6 million investment appears promising. Troy Stephens, Yulong’s racing manager, expressed delight after Clean Energy’s victory, stating, “Mr. Zhang and the entire team at Yulong are thrilled by Clean Energy’s victory on Wednesday. She commanded a pretty high price-tag as a yearling when she was sold at Magic Millions by Widden Stud but she’s out of an amazing mare in Solar Charged and is a full sister to Sunlight. So, there was a bit of pressure from everyone leading into today’s run, and she had drawn awkwardly and on the heavy track, but she made easy work of it in the end; great to see!”
Looking ahead, Stephens revealed, “We will let the dust settle, but possibly we will send Clean Energy to Queensland for the Listed Carter S. over 1200 meters in a couple of weeks' time. We’ll just see how she comes through this run and work out what we do with her from here."
Gallery: Clean Energy outclassed her rivals over 1000 metres, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
He added, “She trialled really well, and she had three trials leading into her debut run and had been showing us plenty at home. We did look at getting her out earlier (last week at Canterbury), but she drew horribly, so we waited, and we believed this was a nice race for Clean Energy to kick things off in.”
Racing royalty
Clean Energy is the ninth foal from the Charge Forward mare Solar Charged, who displayed ability on the track by winning three races, including twice as a 2-year-old. She retired with impressive wins in the G3 Kindergarten S. and the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. Furthermore, Solar Charged achieved placings in races such as the G2 Challenge S., the G2 Reisling S., and three other Group 3 contests.
Although Solar Charged exhibited talent on the track, her true calling as a broodmare quickly became apparent. Her third foal, Sheikha (Sebring), hinted at future success with placings in both Group 3 and Listed races.
Solar Charged's first encounter with Zoustar resulted in her fourth foal, Sunlight, who under the guidance of Tony McEvoy, became a sensation on the track. Sunlight achieved an impressive 11 wins, including prestigious victories in the G1 Newmarket H., the G1 Coolmore Stud S., and the G1 William Reid S. She was honoured as the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in Australia and fetched a staggering $4.2 million at the 2020 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale when sold to Tom Magnier.
Solar Charged and Clean Energy as a foal
Following Sunlight, Solar Charged produced her full sister, the six-time winner Sisstar, who achieved success in a Group 3 race. Solar Charged's progeny have consistently attracted attention in the sales ring, with Dio (Zoustar), another six-time winner, fetching $1.1 million at the 2020 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Additionally, the progressive Kandinsky Abstract (Zoustar) was purchased for $3 million by Tom Magnier at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Solar Charged's latest offspring to grace the sale ring is another colt by Zoustar at this year's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, selling for $850,000 to the China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy. Furthermore, she was served by Zoustar last spring.
