Owner Paul Byrne and trainer Emmet Mullins have launched themselves head first into arguably their most exciting challenge yet with the purchase of recent G3 Gallinule Stakes runner-up Zia Zabel (Ghaiyyath), who the pair will try to make up into a National Hunt stallion. Whether it has been eye-watering gambles or plundering some of the game's biggest prizes, Byrne and Mullins have made a habit out of making the extraordinary look ordinary. Their latest big-race success had all the hallmarks of their combined genius when Soldier In Milan belied his novice status to win the €500,000 Irish Grand National – and land some tidy punts in the process. But turning Zia Zabel, admittedly one of the smartest young horses in training in Ireland, into a stallion prospect represents one of Byrne's biggest bets yet and his long-time ally Mullins joked about how he hopes that he is up to the task.“An exciting opportunity came up,” Mullins simply said to TDN Europe about the acquisition of the former Natalia Lupini-trained colt. “Hopefully Zia Zabel can develop into a potentially exciting and versatile horse. He could be a proper Group horse or potentially a Melbourne Cup horse down the road. We could try to turn him into a National Hunt stallion through a hurdling campaign, which is becoming more popular these days, so we will try and dip our toe into it.”Mullins added, “We only just got him last weekend and he has been here for four or five days. Royal Ascot will come too soon but we'll see how he is in a month and, you'd never know, an Irish Derby wouldn't be out of the question. He'd need to be supplemented but, if all things fell into place, that could be a route we'd take. He's a serious model – great size, scope, strength and depth to him. It's a new challenge for me but hopefully we're up for it.”Zia Zabel raced in the colours of Peter Trainor, an emerging force in the ownership ranks. It was Trainor's eye and pocket that landed Zia Zabel at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for 100,000gns. The three-year-old is understood to have changed hands for many multiples of that figure.Zia Zabel [nearside]: could be pointed towards the Irish Derby | Racingfotos.comTrainor told TDN Europe, “Zia Zabel is by far the best horse I have ever owned – definitely the horse with the most potential. Future History was a very good horse. He ran in the Melbourne Cup in 2023 and I didn't think I'd own many better than him but Zia Zabel is something different.”He added, “I have a tiling and stone business in London but I'm busy with the horses at the minute. The string is growing and we're moving the whole time. It started out as a bit of fun but it has grown into a much bigger entity now. Outside of the horses trained at Ballydoyle, he's probably one of the most exciting horses to come up for sale in Ireland for a long time. It would be very hard to go to a sale and buy one like him.”Asked who can take the credit for picking out Zia Zabel as a yearling for 100,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Trainor replied, “That's me. I loved him at the sales and was keen to get him done. He was quite an expensive [€200,000 at Goffs the previous November] foal. Tally-Ho bought him as a foal and took him to Book 1. I'd say they were disappointed on the day but I was just delighted to get him.”He added, “But a sale like this keeps you afloat – you have to sell a good one every year or every other year to keep the whole thing moving. I sold a Cotai Glory horse to Hong Kong a couple of years ago and that gave me the balance to go and buy Zia Zabel at the yearling sales. I was really surprised to get him on the day and I remember the sale vividly, actually. I can remember John Gosden pulled him out of the back ring. I was thinking to myself, 'oh God, if John Gosden is on him, I have no chance.' The horse was in early on the Wednesday morning and I was hoping that everyone was in bed and that he would go through without anybody noticing. John didn't play and I was fit to get him for that money, which was great.”To that extent, Trainor sees no reason why Mullins's audacious plan to make Zia Zabel into a stallion prospect can't come to fruition given he says the colt is “the type of horse you'd paint.”He said, “I love Ghaiyyath. I'm a massive fan of his and think he's great value at €20,000. I don't breed yet but that would be the plan further down the road. We'll take it one step at a time. It was very hard not to go for a handicap with Zia Zabel after he won at Cork because we thought the handicapper had got it wrong by only giving him a mark of 88 for beating a horse rated 102 [The Publican's Son]. Credit to Natalia, Craig [Bryson] and Shane [Hassett], they were adamant that he was up to running well in the Gallinule and they didn't get it wrong. A lot of credit needs to go to them.”Trainor concluded, “As a physical, he has it all. If you were painting a racehorse, he'd be the type of horse you'd paint. He's unbelievable. He has it all – lovely head, lovely mover and lovely action. Whatever Paul does with him, I wish him every success.”The post Byrne’s Biggest Bet Yet? Zia Zabel Bought With National Hunt Stallion Dream In Mind appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.