Trainer Mark Kavanagh may be without stable stars Shocking and Whobegotyou until the spring but Mushatta has emerged to fill the void over the next couple of months.
Kavanagh is eyeing a Queensland winter campaign for the promising gelding following his impressive first-up win at Moonee Vallley on Friday night.
By Zabeel, the sire of Kavanagh’s 2008 Cox Plate winner Maldivian, Mushatta ($8.50) made it two wins and a third from three starts in the $100,000 Schweppervescence Premium Hcp (1200m) for three-year-olds.
Michael Rodd had him travelling fourth in the 10-horse field after jumping from the outside barrier and narrowly held out Tokugawa after running down the favourite and race leader Plain Lucky who was a length away third.
He’s a progressive sort of a horse that looks like he’s going somewhere,” Kavanagh said.
“He’s pretty good, this one. He’ll be best suited when the races get a lot longer.
“Hopefully he gets out to a good staying trip and maybe there’s a nice race in him in Queensland.”
Kavanagh said the options for the gelding included the Group Two Queensland Guineas (1600m) or the Group One Queensland Derby (2400m), both at Eagle Farm on June 11.
The Flemington trainer’s 2009 Melbourne Cup winner Shocking ran second to Court Ruler on a heavy track in the Queensland Derby that year.
“This one’s a little more brilliant than Shocking, but it was nice to see him get around the Valley like he did,” Kavanagh said.
Rodd was having his first race ride on Mushatta and, like Kavanagh, is also a big fan of the horse.
“We’ve always had quite a big opinion of him, he’s a lovely Zabeel horse, he’s very athletic, very racy for a Zabeel,” he said.
“It was a very, very strong race and he was able to beat them with contempt so it’s really nice.
Kavanagh has been forced to abandon a Sydney campaign for Shocking and Whobegotyou who are both injured.
Last-start Australian Cup winner Shocking jarred up after that race while Blamey Stakes winner Whobegotyou suffered a hock injury, forcing him out for the rest of the season.
AAP TURF
