Three-time Group Two winning son of Zabeel, Ocean Emperor, has been retired to Gary and Jenny Hennessy's Weowna Park ahead of the forthcoming breeding season, where he will stand for a fee of $7000+GST.
Ocean Emperor will be the last Group winning son of Zabeel to retire to stud and boasts a strong pedigree, with his dam the Group 1-placed Pins mare Tootsie. A $450,000 yearling purchase at Karaka from the draft of Waikato Stud, Ocean Emperor was raced by his trainer Hennessy in partnership with Andrew Wong and Stephen Yan — the same team that owned the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) winner, Horse of the Year and now Waikato Stud stallion Ocean Park.
Ocean Emperor had 28 starts for nine wins and five placings, headed by the Group 2 Japan-NZ International Trophy (1600m) and back-to-back editions of the Group 2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m). He contested last year's Kranji Mile (1600m) in Singapore, finishing seventh.
His final start was a fourth placing in the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) at Trentham last December.
"He's a beautifully bred horse and had a massive amount of ability," Hennessy said.
