It hasn’t been a smooth spring for Mazu, but co-trainer Paul Snowden is adamant the talented sprinter only needs even luck to feature in the Giga Kick Stakes at Rosehill.
The Group 1 winner missed a crucial Everest lead-up when he was scratched from the Premiere Stakes on race morning after injuring himself in his box overnight.
A subsequent barrier trial put his Everest preparation back on track, only for bad luck to again intervene in the race itself when he was squeezed out of a run at the top of the straight.
“We didn’t get to see how well he is going in The Everest, we were coming into it nicely and the gate shut,” Paul Snowden said.
“Once we missed the Premiere (Stakes), it has been a disappointing prep for us.
“Everyone hasn’t seen how well he’s going because he’s going terrific and he’s a very happy horse, we just need to get a bit of luck on the day.”
The first piece of luck could be a forecast for rain on Saturday as Mazu is a superior horse on wet tracks.
Snowden’s other hope is that Everest winner and odds-on favourite Think About It, along with his Joe Pride-trained stablemate and Everest placegetter Private Eye, may have already peaked for the campaign.
Private Eye and Mazu ran one-two in the corresponding race last year, but Snowden said his charge had come to the end of his preparation at the time, whereas this year he had something in the tank.
“We found once we got to this race last year, he had run his best race in The Everest,” Snowden said.
“It’s a completely different story this preparation knowing he hasn’t had those (tough) runs because of those little hiccups.
“He is going as good as he can, it’s whether the others turn up.
“But both of Joe’s are very tough horses and they will be hard to beat.”
