Zipping won four consecutive Sandown Classics in a remarkable, iron horse career

Owned by Lloyd Williams, Zipping won 16 of his 47 starts and a little over $4.5 million in prize money in a career that began on the Gold Coast in 2004 and ended at Caulfield in February 2011. The son of Danehill out of a Grand Lodge mare in Social Scene was a beautifully bred colt always destined for higher honours. His grandsire, Grand Lodge was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse offically rated the best European two-year-old of 1993. He won two Group One races; the Dewhurst Stakes in 1993 and the St James's Palace Stakes in 1994. Grand Lodge proved to be an extremely popular stallion: between 1998 and 2003 he was covering an average of more than 300 mares a year. He sired the winners of more than six hundred races, including champions, Sinndar, Freemason, Grandera and the ill-fated Shogun Lodge.

Zipping won the Group 2 Sandown Classic (2400m) on four consecutive occasions with the Melbourne Racing Club later going on to rename the race in his honour. Zipping won his first Sandown Classic back in 2007, defeating Jukebox Johnny as a 6-year-old. The following year as favourite he won a second Classic in defeating Douro Valley by 0.2 lengths. In 2009 Zipping made it three on end with his victory over the Peter Snowden trained Purple, and the 2007 Caulfield Cup winner Master O'Reilly. In 2010 Zipping, in a five horse field won his 4th Sandown Classic by 2 lengths defeating Exceptionally and Manighar. Nick Hall had the winning ride, and Zipping again started the race favourite.

Zipping was the first horse included in the Robert Hickmott stables and placed 4th on three occasions in his four attempts at the Melbourne Cup. Lloyd Williams, the owner of the horse, described him as more than an animal. He called Zipping his friend and his greatest horse in all of his twenty five years in racing. Besides his Sandown Classic victories, Zipping placed in three Cox Plates, finishing second in 2008 behind Maldivian and 2010 behind So You Think and third in 2009, also to So You Think.

Starting his career with Bradley Marzato, Zipping was then taken over by trainer Graeme Rogerson before John Sadler won the first of two Sandown Classics with the gelding in 2007 and 2008. Robert Hickmott took over for Zipping’s 2009 and 2010 Sandown Classic victories and was the gelding’s trainer until his retirement. In his 15th attempt at Group One glory, the veteran galloper claimed his well deserved and long awaited maiden Group 1 success at Flemington in the 2010 Australian Cup (2000m), albeit by only a nose. The victory gave jockey Nick Hall his fourth Group 1 win of the autumn and Zipping’s trainer Robert Hickmott the first Group 1 victory of his career. Hall copped a $1000 fine for excessive whip use by Racing Victoria Stewards, as Zipping secured a devastatingly close victory by mere inches ahead of Sirmione.

For those closest to champion racehorse Zipping it was hard to say goodbye to the tough campaigner after he passed away in early 2022 aged 20-years of age. During his racing career he was a fan-favourite, thrilling racegoers across consecutive seasons, an iron-horse competing at the highest level. The $750,000 Group 2 Sandown Classic has been run since 1888 and won by talented champions such as, Merman (1896), Amounis (1928) Prince Cortauld (1954), Light Fingers (1966), Gunsynd (1971) and Sydeston (1989). But none ever owned it the way in which Zipping did.

RACE RECORD - 45:15-3-7
EARNINGS - A$4,320,195

Moonee Valley Cup (2006)
Sandown Classic (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Turnbull Stakes (2010)
Australian Cup (2010)