The winner of a low-key maiden in New Zealand on Monday has given champion sire Zabeel a milestone 1000th individual winner.
The Craig Thornton-trained five-year-old mare Lovin Connection reinforced the belief that Zabeel's progeny get better with age when she won the 2000m maiden at Stratford at her third start.
The achievement comes just days after Zabeel was confirmed as the champion broodmare sire in Australasia for the second consecutive season.
The evergreen 27-year-old will serve a select band of mares this spring at New Zealand's famous Cambridge Stud where he will be paraded on Sunday.
His service fee remains at $NZ100,000 plus GST.
Zabeel is the sire of 43 individual Group One winners, the latest Gondokoro in the Queensland Oaks in June.
He is closing in on the record of his own famous sire Sir Tristram who produced 45 individual Group One winners.
Among Zabeel's Group One performers are three Melbourne Cup winners - Might And Power (1997), Jezabeel (1998) and Efficient (2007). Sir Tristram also sire three winners of the famous race - Gurner's Lane (1982), Empire Rose (1988) and Brew (2000).