Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Winning the G3 Birthday Card Stakes took Catch The Glory (Zousain) to six wins from 15 starts and earnings over $650,000. Bred by Kirkby-Miller Holdings, Catch The Glory went through Bhima Thoroughbreds’ Magic Millions National Yearling Sale draft in 2023 where her trainer Jason Coyle bought her for $50,000.
The G3 Birthday Card Stakes concluded a massive day of racing at Rosehill with nine stakes races on the 10-race program, led by five Group 1s. Ridden by Adam Hyeronimus, Catch The Glory finished 0.18 lengths in front of Inkaruna (I Am Invincible), and the pair had chased down the front running Spring Lee (Zoustar) who stuck on for third, less than a length away.
Plenty more ahead of her
Trainer Jason Coyle will set Catch The Glory for the G2 Sapphire Stakes in three weeks. The G3 Birthday Card Stakes victory was her first run this campaign, and she’d previously won the $300,000 The Warra at her last start over the spring of 2025. Unfortunately for her connections The Warra is one of the races upgraded to Group 3 level by Racing Australia without the approval of the international pattern system, and thus is not recognised globally as black type.
With the Birthday Card under her belt, Catch The Glory is now officially a Group 3 winner and becomes the fourth stakes winner for her sire Zousain.
“She’s come through the run really well. It was nice to have her ready to go first up. She's a beautiful mare. Height wise, she's not the tallest horse in the enclosure, but I feel like physically, she's got that little bit of class about her now, and she's definitely strong enough,” said Coyle.
Catch The Glory winning the G3 Birthday Card Stakes on Saturday | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“If you watch her down the straight, she's got a good length of stride, and has all the things you need to take yourself to that level. Even if, touch wood, she wasn't to race again, she's done a super job, and has stamped herself as a genuine broodmare prospect.
“She's (Catch The Glory) got a good length of stride, and has all the things you need to take yourself to that level.” - Jason Coyle
“Whatever she does from this point on is a bonus, but I do think she can continue on and race at a higher level. The next obviously being the G2 Sapphire Stakes.”
The value in Catch The Glory’s purchase price wasn’t lost of Coyle who returned to her current earnings of $650,000.
“The middle (of the market) is basically the entire racing industry. I think we get a little bit carried away with the top end but you have to remember, there's a lot below it,” Coyle said.
“At the top, half the yearlings that go through those sales, if you get a horse that earns $600,000, they’re only breaking even on their purchase price.”
Jason Coyle | Image courtesy of The Canberra Times
A late arrival to the sales season
The Magic Millions National Yearling Sale is the final sale on the physical calendar for yearlings to find new homes, and there’s often a reason for a horse ending up there such as an earlier injury, or simply a late foal needing more development time.
“She was nice (as a yearling) but she was probably still a little backwards, so that’s the reason why she probably wouldn't have got into earlier sales. She looked like she had a bit of developing to do, which she's done really nicely,” said Coyle.
Bhima Thoroughbreds took nine yearlings to the 2023 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale and five of them are winners, obviously headlined by Catch The Glory. The October-born filly was raised elsewhere and consigned through Bhima Thoroughbreds, something they often do for breeders.
Catch The Glory as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“There are a lot of times when we don’t raise a foal from birth and only do the yearling preparation and consignment process. Caballus was an example who we sold through Inglis for Middlebrook Valley Lodge, and there have been plenty of others. Breeders like to go through a draft with a good record from a graduate point of view,” said Bhima Thoroughbred’s Mike Fleming.
“She was a good type of filly. Obviously, she went to a later sale but it was more that the breeder was in two minds about whether he would take her to market or race her. He retained a share in her.” The late decision has meant the best of the both worlds for the breeder, Kirkby-Miller Holdings, who now owns a share in a Group 3-winning mare.
“She (Catch The Glory) went to a later sale but it was more that the breeder was in two minds about whether he would take her to market or race her. He retained a share in her.” - Jason Coyle
“Keeping a share is a pretty common occurrence nowadays and helps get them over the line, especially for trainers when they're specking a horse and wanting to syndicate them. It certainly makes a big difference when a breeder prepared to have faith in their product and stay in the ownership.”
Coyle on Zousain
Zousain stands alongside his Champion Sire Zoustar at Widden Stud. Zousain, whose oldest crop are 4-year-olds, won the G2 BRC Champagne Classic (now the Spirit Of Boom Classic) at two and at three was multiple times Group 1-placed. He ran into The Autumn Sun twice, when second to him in both the G1 JJ Atkins Plate and G1 Golden Rose, and was beaten by the Champion Filly Sunlight (Zoustar) when second in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes.
“Zousain is the poor man’s Zoustar. Am I allowed to say that?” Coyle laughed. The two stallions both stand at the same farm, Widden Stud, with Zoustar commanding a $275,000 inc GST fee in 2025, while Zousain stood for 10% of that price at $27,500 inc GST.
Zousain | Standing at Widden Stud
“He's a lovely stallion. I feel like he does a really good job on a lower profile. I've got a couple in the stable that I like. She can obviously gallop and I've got a 2-year-old here that's trialled a couple of times and reports are positive. Personally, I think he's doing a pretty good job.”
“He's a lovely stallion (Zousain) . I feel like he does a really good job on a lower profile.” - Jason Coyle
Three of Zousain’s four stakes winners come from his first crop, being Catch The Glory, and Group 3 winners Drifting and Amelita, while 3-year-old filly Bellazaine won the Listed Lonhro Plate at two and most recently ran in the Saturday’s Listed Darby Munro Stakes for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
A family upgrade through one good race mare
When Catch The Glory was offered as a yearling, her year-older half-brother Power Beau (Brazen Beau) was an unraced 2-year-old. He’s now a Listed-winning 5-year-old gelding, who won the Listed City Of Marion Stakes two starts ago in February.
Power Beau as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Their dam, Catch That Cat (Tale Of The Cat {USA}) has two earlier foals, one of whom was stillborn, followed by the stakes-winning pair, and after that, she has unraced 3-year-old gelding Foreign Affairs (Russian Revolution). She has no juvenile this season, and her yearling filly by Farnan has been named Whispering Hope. She had a filly foal by Wild Ruler in 2025.
Catch That Cat was a tough racemare, winning six times including once at Moonee Valley, and was fourth in the G3 MRC Cape Grim Beef Steaks Series Final. However, her own dam and second dam have no black type and no other city winners, and there’s nothing else on the page until her third dam, stakes-placed Clear Apollo (King Apollo) who produced dual Listed winner Force Apollo (Catrail {USA}).
Catch That Cat has certainly upgraded her own family with two stakes winners from two to race.
