The training partnership of Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr harbours significant aspirations for Zambardo, though they acknowledge the gelding must elevate his performance once more.

With entries for both the prestigious Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup, Zambardo is set to make his seasonal debut in the So You Think Stakes (1500m) at Sandown this Saturday.

Zambardo, a relatively inexperienced gelding bred in New Zealand, has secured four victories from his twelve career starts.

This five-year-old arrived from New Zealand as a maiden, breaking his duck at his second outing for the Price and Kent Jnr stable on the Pakenham synthetic track over 1600m, subsequently achieving consecutive wins at Sale, Sandown, and Caulfield.

His most recent triumph was in a benchmark 78 race over 2000m during the middle day of the Caulfield Cup Carnival.

In a bold move, Price and Kent Jnr pitched Zambardo into the elite company of the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on the concluding day of Melbourne Cup week, where the gelding finished second only to the champion mare Via Sistina.

That placing led to a significant handicap adjustment for Zambardo, boosting his rating from 78 to 103 and netting connections $540,000.

Consequently, Zambardo found himself too highly weighted for less competitive races and was compelled to compete at a higher level, which he did throughout the autumn, starting in Sydney before concluding his campaign in Brisbane.

Despite these challenges, Price and Kent Jnr remain eager to test the gelding in ‘some nice races’ this spring.

“We’re keen to be ambitious with him, until proven otherwise,” Kent Jnr stated.

“The Cox Plate will certainly be considered, but he has to prove he is at that level.

“His form went a bit sideways last preparation, for a variety of reasons. He was getting a long way back, he had bad barriers, that Q22 was a funny race, they went no gallop and it wasn’t a test of anyone’s ability.

“I think we judge the horse on his first couple of runs back here in Melbourne, but what I can say, he is flying, going particularly well.”

With this year’s Cox Plate scheduled to be held at Flemington due to the Moonee Valley rebuild, Kent Jnr is anticipating Zambardo’s campaign launch at Sandown.

“I think that is one of the keys to him as he’s raced there before and I think he will enjoy being back Sandown,” Kent Jnr commented.

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