Zephyr Bay (1 September 1970 – 15 April 1995) was an Australian

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

and

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. An outstanding sprinter in the mid 1970s, Zephyr Bay retired to stud in 1975 with 9 wins including the VATC

Oakleigh Plate The Oakleigh Plate is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late February. Total prize money is A$750,000. History The Oakl ...

, AJC Challenge Stakes and AJC Expressway Stakes. He held the 1000m Randwick course record for 35 years.

Breeding

Zephyr Bay was bred by Lionel Israel at his Segenhoe Stud near

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He was born in 1970 from the first crop of the

Star Kingdom A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth mak ...

stallion

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

, out of the Pan II mare Heavenly Wind. Zephyr Bay was purchased by horse trainer Bert Lyell on behalf of Bob Miller at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in 1972 for $16,000.00.

Racing career

Coal black and brilliantly fast Zephyr Bay became known as the "black flash" winning top sprint races and setting numerous course records. He was often ridden throughout his career by Grahame Horselman and Roy Higgins. Zephyr Bay raced as a two-year-old in the 1972/73 season under trainer Bert Lyell. He won twice before coming in second to Imagele in the STC Todman Stakes. In the STC Todman Stakes Zephyr Bay suffered from a splint under his knee and was sent out to spell. After spending almost 12 months spelling, Zephyr Bay came back into the care of trainer Cyril Kearns, Bert Lyell having died. The highlights of his three-year-old career were second placings in the STC

George Ryder Stakes The George Ryder Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and over at Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 1500 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in March or April. I ...

and the AJC

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

. Zephyr Bay's four-year-old season during 1974/75 proved to be the peak of his racing career. He achieved victories in the AJC Challenge Stakes, followed by the AJC Expressway Stakes and culminating in the Group 1 VATC

. Setting a course record in each win. The course record Zephyr Bay set winning the AJC Challenge Stakes would last 35 years until 2010. Zephyr Bay's final race was in the AJC

where he injured a tendon and was retired from racing.

Stud record

In 1975, Zephyr Bay was retired to stud in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. First standing at Balcarres Stud at

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...

, later Waikato Stud before being repatriated to Australia in 1987 to stand at Carrington Stud in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

and then Great Missenden Stud in Victoria. Zephyr Bay, although hampered by poor fertility proved an exceptional sire. He sired only 250 foals over 17 years at stud and produced 141 winners from 181 runners (78%), 22 stakes winners (12%), and 7 Group 1 winners (4%). Among his top performers were: * Zephyr Zip ( AJC Sires Produce Stakes) * Judena (WRC New Zealand St. Leger) * Glamour Bay (WRC

New Zealand Oaks The New Zealand Oaks is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run at set weights over a distance of 2400 metres ( miles) on the third Saturday of March every year at Trentham Racecourse in Wellington, New Zealand. It was ...

) * Broad Reach ( BATC Doomben One Hundred Thousand) * Full & By (AJC Champagne Stakes) * Zepherin (WRC

) * Elounda Bay (VRC

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival. Pri ...

) * Society Bay (VRC Edward Manifold Stakes)

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1970 racehorse births 1995 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 22-b Racehorses trained in Australia Racehorses bred in Australia