Trainer Anthony Freedman is hoping to qualify Mawingo for the major Cups in the Spring during his Winter Carnival campaign which kicks off at the Gold Coast tomorrow.
Mawingo lines up in the Group 2 $300,000 Gold Coast Turf Club A D Hollindale Stakes (1800m) and has been installed the $3.50 favourite for the weight for age race after winning at his only Australian start.
The imported stallion impressed Freedman at his debut for the stable in winning the Muscular Dystrophy Australia Plate (1600m) at Flemington on April 14 and a Spring campaign was immediately put to the fore.
“I am mindful of getting him qualified and would like to do that this prep if we can,” Freedman said.
“I was really pleased with his tactical speed. Obviously he can race anywhere in a field and that’s going to augur well for the future.”
“He really wasn’t closer than three deep so it is pretty good effort to front up here after getting off the plane 10 weeks ago.”
Freedman is taking a form line through his German import Lucas Cranach who was prepared for the Spring last year from the Freedman Brothers’ Rye base for a fifth to Southern Speed in the Group 1 $2.6 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield and a third to Dunaden in the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
“On the back of Lucas Cranach, German form is now accepted and form around this horse is particularly strong since they bought him,” Freedman said.
“He’s got great acceleration and that is what you need these days to win big staying races.”
Jockey Daniel Moor has retained the ride on Mawingo at the Gold Coast after winning on the four year old at Flemington and has set up base in Brisbane to help prepare the Freedman runners over the Carnival.
Moor was most impressed with the German galloper’s win but said the stable was still learning a lot about the import.
“I came up on Monday and I’m helping the stable crew out with the horses and working them before Saturday,” Moor said.
“Mawingo is relatively inexperienced but it is not a vintage edition of the Hollindale and if he is a genuine WFA performer he has to set up to the mark this weekend.”
“Travelling up and settling in are obviously the queries and it is a definite rise in class.”
Moor was quick to admit that his winning ride on Mawingo was not high quality but the four year old won as he liked after sitting three wide for the entire trip and was still able to draw away at the finish after getting to front a bit too soon in the straight.
“I set him a task a long way out and he still chased down the line,” Moor said.
“We’re still learning about this horse. He is very high quality and his win at Flemington was quite tough, he was three wide the entire and pulled his way to the front and got there too soon.”
Fruehling is another overseas runner that Freedman has starting at the Gold Coast that has won at his only two Australian starts.
Moor will again be on Fruehling in the Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation Open Handicap (2200m) after partnering him in his wins at Sandown and Werribee.
“His first up win was of good quality but the second one stamped him as a decent, progressive horse,” Moor said.
