Some of the season’s newly turned three-year-olds have shown they still have a bit to learn, putting on a messy display for the first race at Randwick.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Mandela was sent out the $3.10 favourite and eventually got his win on Saturday after coming out slowly and getting back further than ideal.
At the business end of the Owners Awards Handicap (1200m), the colt copped some backwash as second-past-the-post Edison ($4) knocked Art Collection ($4.80) sideways.
After a protest, Art Collection and Edison swapped positions with Mandela the winner by a half head.
“It didn’t go to script,” Paul Snowden said.
“The biggest thing was Tim (Clark) knowing him so well which got him over the line.
“He’s not putting it all in which he will have to do if we are looking at better races.
“He is a really nice horse going forward.”
Clark said Mandela had all the talent in the world but he needed to focus it in the right direction.
“He didn’t jump cleanly,” he said.
“So I left him alone and through I would give him the last shot at them.
“He was going to win a lot more comfortably but that bit of interference halfway up the straight really stopped his momentum.
“He still does a few little things wrong.
“The ability’s there for sure but he’s got more talent than he is showing at the moment.”
Mandela’s stablemate Misteed ($9) brought up a winning double for the Snowdens when she upset odds-on favourite True Detective ($1.60) to win the Trainers Association Handicap (1200m) by a short head.
The mare held off the late dive by True Detective after getting to the front a bit sooner than jockey Kerrin McEvoy planned.
