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Chris Waller has cancelled the Brisbane carnival campaign he had mapped out for his problem colt Zousain.
The three-time Group 1 placegetter will instead head to the paddock with the champion trainer looking ahead to next season for the rising four-year-old.
Zousain was scratched from the Gold Coast Guineas last month due to health issues, the second time he had missed planned starts since he last raced at Flemington in the G1 Newmarket Handicap on March 9.
He won three Sydney trials on March 29, April 26 and May 13 since the Newmarket but Waller still wasn’t satisfied that all was right with the Zoustar colt and is conscious of protecting the Group 2 winner’s stud value.
"Zousain is a Group 1 horse every day of the week. He has the ability to win a Group 1 before he goes to stud," Waller said.
Zousain has two G1 placings on his record, finishing runner-up to stablemate The Autumn Sun in the G1 Golden Rose early in the season and second to star fily Sunlight in the Colmore Stud Stakes at Flemington, spiked a temperature when he arrived in Queensland for the Gold Coast Guineas.
He returned to Sydney and looked set for a return to Queensland for Saturday’s G1 Kingsford Smith Cup after his most recent trial win at Rosehill on May 13.
Zousain apparently suffers from low immunity that leads to the colt developing a cough and increases in his temperature.
Meanwhile leading Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan will make a decision this week on whether his unbeaten star Zoustyle, also by boom sire Zoustar, has his next start in the G2 Moreton Cup (1200m) at Doomben on June 1.
Gollan is yet to commit Zoustyle to a start in the $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 8.
However a Stradbroke start has been confirmed for last Saturday’s G1 Goodwood winner Despatch by his trainer Tony McEvoy.
McEvoy said Despatch would be flown to Brisbane this week with stablemate Grand Scholar, a runner in the BRC Sires Produce Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
McEvoy will start Dollar For Dollar and possibly Manuel in Saturday’s $700,000 Kingsford Smith Cup.
