Lovatsville | Lovatsville Stallions Espionage
Overview
ZOUSTAR (AUS) - IN TIMES OF WAR (AUS),
by Street Cry (USA), 2021 - Bay, 16.0 1/2hh
- Star 2yo winning the renowned Group 3 Breeders Plate and the Group 3 Kindergaten Stakes
- Fellow winners of the stallion making Breeder's Plate include Sebring, Snitzel, Choisir, Pierro, Capitalist and Charge Forward
- Stunning $1,000,000 Magic Millions yearling to the bid of renowned judge James Harron.
- Expensive acquisition for Coolmore Stud as a stud prospect prior to his 3 year-old season, with Coolmore retaining an involvement with Espionage at stud.
Service Fee - $11,000 incl. GST. Free returns, conditions apply.
Pedigree
- By Zoustar, Australia's reigning Champion Sire and sire of Group 1 stars like Joliestar, Zougotcha, Sunlight, Mizzy & Climbing Star as well as Group 1 winning colts and exciting young sires Ozzmosis and Schwartz.
- Out of a tough Street Cry mare, In Times Of War, whose first 11 starts were all at city level where she either won or ran second in all. Hailing from the famed Summoned family, the lineage of speed influence Zedative.
- In Times Of War is a half-sister to the dam of this seasons 2 year-old Group 2 Skyline Stakes winner Campione D'Italia, with both mares being out of the General Nediym 2 year-old Magic Millions and Group 2 Reisling Stakes speedster Military Rose.
- Zoustar crosses beautifully with Fastnet Rock mares (12.7% stakes winners to runners), Shamardal lines and offers a great sex balancing option to Redoute's Choice line mares (11% stakes winners to runners). His stunning looks offer the perfect physical to I Am Invincible line mares.
Performance
- Early season 2 year-old Group 3 winner of the renowned Breeder's Plate like Snitzel, Capitalist, Sebring, Choisir, Pierro, Charge Forward etc, over 1000m.
- Explosive winner of the 2 year-old Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes over 1100m, careering away showing his speed and class, emulating same race victors like Bivouac, Forensics, Solar Charged, Snowland and Belle Du Jour.
- A training accident put paid to his 3 year-old Spring Campaign where he was being lined up for both the Coolmore and James Harron Everest slots.
- "Very much a precocious 2 year-old, he had enormous speed. He just did everything so easily. Most importantly, he had a great temperament - you threw him the ball and he threw it straight back - I love those sort of horses." Gai Waterhouse.
News
Lovatsville Welcomes Top 2-Year-Old, Million-Dollar Zoustar Son 'Espionage' to Stud
26 March 2026
Multiple Group-winning 2-year-old Espionage, the stunning $1,000,000 Magic Millions yearling son of Champion sire Zoustar, will join the Lovatsville roster in 2026 at an introductory fee of $11,000 (incl. GST).
A boom early-season 2-year-old with blistering speed, Espionage won the time-honoured Group 3 Breeders' Plate over 1000m on debut—a race previously won by recent sire stars Snitzel, Sebring, Choisir, Capitalist, Pierro, and Charge Forward.
Espionage returned in the autumn to win the Group 3 ATC Kindergarten Stakes over 1100m in devastating fashion, emulating Bivouac, Forensics, Solar Charged, Belle Du Jour, and Snowland as a winner of the prestigious race.
Bred by Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud and purchased by lauded judge James Harron, he was entrusted to the care of renowned juvenile conditioners, the legendary sire-maker Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Their preparation and handling helped create the progressive Espionage story that unfolded throughout his 2-year-old career.
Espionage’s high-class juvenile performances, coupled with the colt's striking good looks, prompted Coolmore and their partners to swoop in on a multi-million-dollar deal to acquire the majority of the horse. An untimely injury on the cusp of his 3-year-old season put paid to Everest ambitions for connections, but it highlighted the immense regard and enormous upside they felt he possessed.
Lovatsville’s Sam White is delighted to secure the horse with Coolmore retaining an interest.
“He is a great coup for our farm and for Victoria, and to have Coolmore’s continued backing underlines his credentials in this market,” said White. “He is a beautifully coloured stallion with a fabulous Zoustar-styled head. A brilliant loose mover with a plunging girth and great shoulder. He has scope, short cannons, great length to his hocks, and has an outstanding demeanour.”
Champion trainer Gai Waterhouse enthusiastically endorsed the prospects of Espionage standing at Lovatsville.
“He was very much a precocious 2-year-old, a sensational horse with enormous speed who did everything so easily,” Waterhouse noted. “He has such a fabulous temperament, which is so important. He is as good-looking a colt as you will find, and being a fast son of Zoustar with looks like his, I know that breeders will be very impressed when they see him.”
His pedigree adds significant appeal, being by Champion sire and commercial sales ring success Zoustar, out of a quality city-winning Street Cry mare, and a grandson of Magic Millions winner Military Rose by the renowned speed influence General Nediym.
“With his looks, pedigree, performance, and price point, he is your commercial 'look and book' moneymaker,” White added.
With 50 quality mares already committed to Espionage through a strong shareholder syndicate, he has the right backing and credentials to make an immediate impact on the Australasian breeding and racing scene, profiling very similarly to the likes of I Am Invincible and Written Tycoon.
Espionage will stand at an introductory fee of $11,000 (incl. GST).
Media & Nominations Booking Enquiries:
Sam White: 0408 123 428 - sam@lovatsville.com – www.lovatsville.com
