HAWKESBURY BARGAIN BUY MAKES HONG KONG DEBUT

Zoum Raider after his Wyong win with Greentree (3rd from left)

JACKIE Greentree won’t be at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley racetrack tomorrow night.

But she and husband Mark will be the keenest of viewers when the second race is run not long after 9pm.

The couple will watch a young horse they bought for only $2000 and subsequently sold to Hong Kong interests after winning at Wyong at only his second start, make his debut overseas.

“We did well,” Hawkesbury trainer Jackie Greentree said this evening, summing up what obviously turned out to be an excellent transaction.

Ridden by Chad Schofield, three-year-old Zoum Raider was a $14 chance when he lined up in a Provincial Maiden Handicap (1100m) on September 1 last year.

Most punters expected a Hawkesbury-trained horse to win the Wyong race as leading trainer Brad Widdup’s The Act was a $1.45 hotpot.

But it was Greentree’s young sprinter who sustained a determined burst in the straight to overhaul The Act (who finished third) and then hold off a strong-finishing Koios ($5.50).

“We got an offer for Zoum Raider immediately after that race,” Greentree said.

“There were a few ups and downs for five or six weeks and after one offer fell through, another better offer came through and the deal was done.”

Zoum Raider after arriving in Hong Kong late last year had a name change.

He will race as Looking Bright, is being trained by Frankie Lor and will be ridden by champion Aussie expat Zac Purton in a Class 3 Handicap (1000m).

“We have been following his progress, and his trials have been outstanding,” Greentree said.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how he goes, and hopefully runs well.”

Purton rode Looking Bright in his latest trial, and it appears as though he will be strongly fancied to make a winning Hong Kong debut.

Greentree purchased the Zousain three-year-old two years ago as a yearling online through Inglis Digital after her husband (the couple run an air-conditioning and refrigeration business) had noticed him being advertised as part of a stud’s dispersal sale.

Being sired by Zousain, twice metropolitan winner (Royal Randwick and Doomben) as a two-year-old, along with being a three times Group 1 placegetter, and being a grandson of top stallion Zoustar, Mark Greentree thought he would be a good gamble.

“After getting him so cheaply, we were really impressed with him as a beautiful type when he arrived at our stable,” Jackie Greentree said.

“He wasn’t even broken in. We got that done and took our time with him.”

Zoum Raider (aka Looking Bright) didn’t debut until May 1 last year and was a despised $151 outsider when ninth in a midweek 2YO Maiden Handicap (1100m) at Canterbury.

The youngster pulled up shin sore and was given a break, then later beat nine rivals in a Warwick Farm trial on August 12, after which Greentree set her sights on the Wyong assignment.

Whilst Zoum Raider was Greentree’s last winner, she has a small stable and has had only a dozen runners since.

“I’ve got three horses in work, but we have bought three yearlings this year and a weanling,” she said.

No doubt hoping another Zoum Raider comes along!

Story John Curtis, May 13, 2025 - Pics Bradley Photoso