Type: Visiting Jockey

Nationality: Australia

Background:
Age: 43. Mark Zahra commenced riding in Western Australia. He won his first race in 1999 and then moved to Victoria to work for Brian Cox at Wodonga and later with Tony McEvoy at Lindsay Park. His first Group 1 victory was in the 2006 Doomben Cup aboard Above Deck. He scored five wins across a short-term stint in Hong Kong in 2012. He has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, notably winning the Melbourne Cup twice aboard Gold Trip (2022) and Without A Fight (2023). He also won the 2023 Caulfield Cup with Without A Fight and the same race in 2020 with Verry Elleegant. He is the ninth jockey to ride back-to-back Melbourne Cup winners. In 2025, he won the Queen Anne Stakes with Docklands at Royal Ascot. The same year he added more Group 1 wins, namely, the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Tentyris), Victoria Derby (Observer) and Champions Sprint (Giga Kick). He has amassed more than 1,500 wins in his riding career.

Notable Race Wins Include
Melbourne Cup (2022 Gold Trip, 2023 Without A Fight), Caulfield Cup (2020 Verry Elleegant, 2023 Without A Fight), Queen Anne Stakes (2025 Docklands), Australian Derby (2018 Levendi), Victoria Derby (2025 Observer), Coolmore Stud Stakes (2017 Merchant Navy, 2025 Tentyris), Champions Sprint (2025 Giga Kick), Australian Oaks (2024 Autumn Angel), Turnbull Stakes (2020 Verry Elleegant, 2023 Gold Trip), Doomben Cup (2006 Above Deck), TJ Smith Stakes (2008 Rockdale, 2019 Santa Ana Lane), VRC Sprint Classic (2018 Santa Ana Lane), Caulfield Guineas (2019 Super Seth), C F Orr Stakes (2022 Tofane), G2 Zipping Classic (2019 Southern France), Singapore Gold Cup (2022 Hongkong Great).

Hong Kong Career Wins
(as of 8 April): 5