by Michael Burns

Zhou closed her two-year-old season on a high note with a smart victory in the Clasico Tanteo de Potrancas (Chi-G1) on Saturday at Santiago's Hipodromo Chile.

The Lord Florey filly stamped herself as one of Chile’s top juvenile fillies on the dirt leading up to the spring classics with her first career stakes win.

Sent off as the fourth choice, Zhou finished strongest in the stretch to post a three-quarter-length victory over favorite La Verdad Triunfa and longshot Siguenza in the 13-horse field.

Trained by Daniel Contreras, who earned his first Group 1 victory as a trainer, Zhou covered 1,500 meters (7.45 furlongs) on a muddy main track in 1:31.26 to register her third win in six career starts.

Campaigned by owner Guillermo Marsh’s Stud Paula Inés, Zhou entered off a 4 1/4-length victory in an allowance race on June 7 at Hipodromo Chile. She was unplaced in two previous stakes races.

Bred in Chile by Haras De Pirque, Zhou is out of the Hussonet mare Neige.

Michael Burns is a South America-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent