20 Dec 2008
By Phillip Quay
High-class stayer Zarius has been retired from racing after suffering a further tendon injury.
His Cambridge owner, Bob Emery, confirmed the retirement at the weekend of the well-performed gelding who is by Cambridge Stud-based champion sire Zabeel
Zarius won the Group 2 City Of Auckland Cup at Ellerslie and finished third in the Group 1 Auckland Cup at Ellerslie in the same year.
He won a total of seven races from only 17 career starts and had his final race when finishing sixth in the York Cup at Avondale on December 6.
"After that race at Avondale he developed his tendon injury. It was in the opposite front leg to where he had had a previous tendon injury on which we did a stem cell operation," Emery said.
"He had come up very well in his new campaign but we have decided it is best now to retire him," he said.
Zarius was trained throughout his racing career at Matamata by Mark Walker.
A half-sister to Zarius, a filly by another Cambridge Stud-based sire Stravinsky, will be offered from Emery's Belvedere Farm draft at the Karaka Yearling Sales next month.