Triple Crown warhorse Mazu reminded everyone that age is just a number with a brilliant first-up victory in the $1 million Group 2 Yarraman Park The Shorts (1100m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The eight-year-old son of Maurice produced a typically tough performance to defeat some of Australia’s leading sprinters, taking his remarkable career earnings to $11,464,220 and once again putting his name firmly into the spring spotlight.
Sent forward from barrier one by jockey Rachel King, Mazu found the front and controlled the race from there. Turning for home, the field began to close in, but the evergreen gelding dug deep in the final stages to hold off multiple Group 1 winner Joliestar by a neck, with his Joseph Pride-trained stablemate King’s Secret another nose away in third.
It was a superb display of speed and courage from Mazu, who was first-up since completing an extraordinary three-peat in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes at Randwick in April.
King has developed an outstanding association with the popular gelding and was full of admiration for him after another big-race victory.
“They should never forget about him. He’s so honest,” King said. “He’s a model of consistency”.
She perhaps summed up Mazu best with one final observation:
“He doesn’t know how old he is and don’t tell him.”
Saturday’s victory was Mazu’s 11th win, adding another Group victory to a CV headed by his Group 1 Doomben 10,000, Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint and three consecutive Hall Mark Stakes victories.
The win also reignited excitement around a potential return to the $20 million The Everest at Royal Randwick on October 17. Mazu has already contested in the feature sprint three times, highlighted by his third-place finish behind Giga Kick in 2022. A fourth appearance would add another chapter to Mazu’s extraordinary career, while marking Triple Crown’s representation in The Everest to seven runners across the race’s ten-year history.
With Mazu continuing to perform at the highest level, however, his emphatic return has ensured he will again feature prominently in discussions as Everest Day approaches.
Mazu was selected and purchased by Triple Crown at the Inglis Classic Sale for $180,000 and with Saturday’s victory earning Mazu another $580,000 in prizemoney, his total career winnings elevated to an incredible $11,464,220.
Congratulations to trainer Joseph Pride, jockey Rachel King and Mazu’s owners M De Stoop, D Da Silva, V Mossman, M Garreffa, R Edge, S Hopkins, K May, G Clark, L Caminiti, F McCourt, A Prince, M Healy and M Spilstead on another magnificent achievement.