Three year old find of the season Mahuta will kick off his 2016 Spring Carnival campaign in the Group 3 $150,000 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Mahuta, above, will resume for the Spring Carnival in the Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield . Photo by Daniel Costello.
Mahuta strung together six wins since October last year and quickly worked his way up through the ranks after winning his maiden at Kyneton.
At his second race start the Darren Weir trained Mahuta won the Listed $120,000 Polytrack Gothic Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield followed by a win in the Group 3 $200,000 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Flemington and a win in the Group 2 $250,000 Sandown Guineas (1600m) at Sandown at the end of the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Weir then gave Mahuta a short break before heading to the Gold Coast in January to win the $2m Magic Millions 3yo Guineas (1400m) before heading back to Flemington to win Group 2 $200,000 Hyland Race Colours Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
The Melbourne Cup winning trainer then gave Mahuta his first taste at Group 1 level but after travelling on the pace faded in the straight to finish fourteenth to stablemate Palentino in the Group 1 $750,000 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 5.
Weir is happy with Mahuta’s progress heading into his first up run in the Bletchingly Stakes and will give the rising four year old another chance at Group 1 level in the $500,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 27.
“He’s still big and woolly and gross but he’s a powerful, big horse now,” Weir told AAP.
“He’s had two jump-outs and the second one was good.
“He’ll run in the P B Lawrence Stakes at his next start after the Bletchingly and then into the Memsie third-up.”
“That’s his go, 1400 metres at Caulfield up on the speed.”
“Whether he’s good enough, I’m not sure, but he’s been a great horse for the connections.”
Weir said that Australian Guineas winner Palentino is also well into his Spring Carnival preparation but is a couple of weeks behind Mahuta and will step out later in August.
Weir is well on the way to winning his third Melbourne trainer’s premiership and with another two winners at Flemington last Saturday taking his season’s tally to 105 wins, 23 wins ahead of his nearest rivals, the Lindsay Park Team of David Hayes and Tom Dabernig who are on 82 wins for the 2015 – 2016 season.
