Eight heats for juveniles at the Randwick barrier trials on Friday morning produced plenty of interesting winners, but none more so than one of my favourite colts to step out this season.
Arrowfield shuttler Maurice (Jpn) has had his share of talented good looking youngsters run for him this season, but Mazu would be at the top of that list.
A handsome bay with a prominent blaze prepared by Peter and Paul Snowden, Mazu won on debut at Canterbury in February and then was a fast finishing and close up third in the Group III ATC Pago Pago Stakes behind Shaquero and Tiger of Malay.
Spelled after that, he reappeared this morning in a 735m heat and was always in cruise control travelling deep in the run and steaming to the line to win by a length under a hold.
A $180,000 Inglis Classic purchase for Triple Crown Syndications from the Parsons Creek draft, Mazu is a half-brother to Group I winner Headway being the fifth winner from Group III placed Chatelaine.
Maurice has done a great job with his first Australian bred two year-olds producing six winners from 30 runners, but interestingly six of those runners are stakes horses and I’ll go out on a limb here and predict Mazu can be his first Australian stakes-winner!
Maurice is headed back to Australia for Arrowfield this spring and stands at a fee of $44,000.
Click here to see all the trial results at Breednet with Sale Mail and at Racing NSW with video.