Maher team upbeat on Zahrann ahead of Bendigo debut

The Ciaron Maher stable is quietly confident imported galloper Zahrann can make a strong impression when he debuts in Australia at Bendigo on Saturday.

The Irish-bred entire will line up in the Listed Golden Mile (1600m), his seventh career start, bringing solid European form to his local debut.

Bendigo has long been considered an ideal launching pad for imports, with champions such as Better Loosen Up, Hyperno and Salamander all having connections to the track, while Observational famously won the Golden Mile first-up in Australia in 2015.

Zahrann has only raced once over a mile, finishing second in a Navan maiden over 1609m on debut, and assistant trainer Jack Turnbull admits the trip may be short of his best.

“I won’t say it will be too short, but in a perfect world he’s going to want a bit further,” Turnbull said.

“He takes a lot riding. He’s a very complacent animal, but when he puts his mind to it, he can really have a crack.

“He’s really exciting for the spring and that was why he was purchased, ideally for a race like the Caulfield Cup and you go through his form in Europe, it’s pretty exciting.

“If we can capture a bit of that on Saturday and build off that, that would be great, and our plan is to get to the spring.”

Turnbull said Saturday’s run would determine whether Zahrann heads to Queensland for a winter campaign or is set specifically for the spring carnival.

“The spring comes around very quick,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say he will spell between now and spring, it’s just where he ticks over, in what location.”

The path to the races has not been straightforward, with Zahrann requiring time to overcome foot issues after arriving in Australia.

“When we started with him, we trained him barefoot for a while, took him back to basics, and had our farrier team get on top of him,” Turnbull said.

“He had a few small hiccups, but looking back, we’re well on top of that now.

“He’s a very attractive stallion and being Bendigo, a lovely galloping track, a lovely surface, it should be ideal.

“He’ll be asked to step away, hold a spot somewhere, hopefully that’s midfield, or thereabouts and then have one run at them to be finishing off, and if that is good enough, then that’s great, otherwise we build and look for something a little longer.”

The Maher stable will also be represented by Holymanz, who enters the race in strong condition following a recent jump-out at Cranbourne.

“As I always say, you would love to own him,” Turnbull said.

“He’s so well. He’s had a little jump-out since his last run. He’s fresh, so consistent and the mile is his trip.

“If he runs to his level and gets a smooth run, I’m sure he’s good enough.”

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