A precocious, Group winning son of Champion Sire Zoustar, Espionage has a pedigree which can accommodate and complement many broodmare lines.
The key individuals and families identified in Espionage’s ancestry are accompanied by recommended sires (shown in BOLD), whose presence in mares’ pedigrees can complement or reinforce these lines.
Encosta De Lago and Flying Spur present in his pedigree are from the CIBOULETTE branch of the (4-g) family. Other family members to source are RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, FINANCE TYCOON, SPIETH, COCO LA TERREUR, NIGHT SHIFT, SNAADEE, KHELEYF and HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR. In future, daughters of HOME AFFAIRS are also key.
It is also worth sex balancing Flying Spur or Encosta De Lago for a speed boost. Daughters of ENCOSTA DE LAGO can be sourced via mares by ALABAMA EXPRESS, IMPENDING, INVADER, DIVINE PROPHET and in future, SWORD OF STATE. Broodmare sires carrying sons of FLYING SPUR include those by ALL TOO HARD, CASINO PRINCE, MAGNUS, JET SPUR and SHAFT.
Espionage carries Machiavellian, Danehill (twice), Halo and a total of five lines to Northern Dancer, all tracing to ALMAHMOUD (2-c). Halo appears as damsire of Machiavellian, on Espionage’s fifth remove. Sons of HALO in mares will sex balance this important ancestor. He can be found via daughters / granddaughters of MORE THAN READY (and sons BETTER THAN READY, BENICIO, PERFECTLY READY, PLUCK, SEBRING), DON’T SAY HALO and DUBLEO.
SUNDAY SILENCE is also a son of Halo with descendant daughters in Australasia. They include those by DEEP IMPACT (sons SAXON WARRIOR, MIKKI ISLE, STAPHANOS, REAL IMPACT, SATONO ALADDIN, etc), ADMIRE MARS, FUJI KISEKI, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, KEEP THE FAITH, HEART’S CRY, TOSEN PHANTOM (and son BRAVE SMASH), TAYASU TSUYOSHI and ZENNO ROB ROY.
Other ALMAHMOUD family members to seek in mares’ pedigrees are ACE HIGH, SUPIDO, WAY OF LIGHT, EXIT TO NOWHERE, EL MOXIE, YOUTHFUL LEGS, DIATRIBE, ESPERERO, L’EMIGRANT, CANNONADE and ARCTIC TERN.
The TORPENHOW (8-f) family is represented by Redoute’s Choice and his damsire, Nijinsky II. Linebreeding to this family is a very successful pattern. AL MAHER, MASTERCLASS, HURRICANE SKY, NEW REGENT, SPINNING WORLD, DOMESDAY, EL GRAN SENOR, TRY MY BEST (sire of LAST TYCOON), FAR NORTH, THE MINSTREL, UMATILLA, XAAR, FREE AMERICA, GOOD JOURNEY and FRIENDLY RELATIONS are other family members to seek in mares for Espionage. As an example, Group 1 winner Schwarz is by Zoustar out of a daughter of NOT A SINGLE DOUBT (sex balancing Redoutes’s Choice) and also traces on tail female line to a half sister to Redoute’s Choice, further reinforcing this valuable line.
Street Cry, damsire of Espionage, is a close relation to SHAMARDAL and works very well with him in matings. His sons LOPE DE VEGA (and sons BELARDO and LUCKY VEGA), EARTHLIGHT, GHIBELLINES, PUISSANCE DE LUNE and SHAMOLINE WARRIOR are valuable sources.
Espionage’s fourth dam is SUMMONED, a taproot of the PARAFFIN (1-n) family. This is also the immediate family of ZEDITAVE, JET SPUR and ALANNON. RESET mares carry Zeditave, present as his damsire.
Zoustar has produced over ten Group 1 winners to-date and analysis of his best stock reveals the mares by (or carrying) stallions accessible in Australasia.
Espionage carries GOODY TWO SHOES family members Northern Meteor and Fairy King via Zoustar. Other members of this family which would enhance this line are SADLER’S WELLS, NUREYEV, PERUGINO (and son TESTA ROSSA), TATE GALLERY, GEIGER COUNTER, YEATS, INFLATE, THATCHING, THATCH, TOPSIDER, FESTIVAL HALL, LORENZACCIO and OPEN DAY. ZABEEL is out of a Nureyev mare. Three of Zoustar’s ten Group 1 winners reinforce this family via their dams.
FASTNET ROCK has an excellent strike rate with Zoustar of 12.7%* Stakes Winners to Runners.
As a further example of successful sex balancing, Zoustar’s dam is a daughter of Redoute’s Choice. He has worked well with mares carrying sons of REDOUTE’S CHOICE. This cross has an impressive Stakes Winners to Runners ratio of nearly 11%*.
* at time of writing
3 March ‘26