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Maximal has the class, Waihaha Falls has the form on the board, and Zou Tiger is building towards another win.
They are the trio of horses who will line up for John O’Shea in Saturday’s Listed Carrington Stakes (1400m) at Randwick and the trainer won’t be surprised to see any of them salute.
“I think they’ve all got legitimate chances in a very open race,” O’Shea said.
Runner-up in the 2022 Group 1 Doomben Cup and Turnbull Stakes, Maximal adds an intriguing element to the feature, returning after more than a year off the scene after suffering a minor suspensory strain.
Stablemate and recent Summer Cup winner Lion’s Roar has made a successful return from a similar complaint and O’Shea expects Maximal to likewise get back to his best form, albeit that is over a mile to 2000-metres.
Maximal has also been gelded, a tough decision given he is closely related to superstar Frankel, but his recent trials have been sharp enough to convince O’Shea he can be a force fresh.
“I would have loved to have gelded him before, but obviously he was a valuable commodity being a three-quarter brother to Frankel,” O’Shea said.
“If he wins the Turnbull, he probably makes a stallion.
“But once he had to have a long period out, there was no point trying to keep him a stallion.
“I have been very happy with him and he has trialled up really well.”
Connections are keen for Maximal to earn an All-Star Mile invitation and will be looking for him to showcase his claims in the coming weeks.
Last start winner Waihaha Falls has also continued to please the stable.
He heads to Saturday with a month between runs and should again get a strong tempo to suit.
“There is genuine tempo, for sure. He will probably follow ‘Max’ (Maximal) and Tommy (Berry) has got a good understanding of the horse,” O’Shea said.
Zou Tiger is the most fancied of the trio, who are all at single-figure odds, and like Maximal he returned to work this campaign as a gelding.
After an even first-up run, he showed sharp improvement to go down narrowly to one of Saturday’s rivals, Rubamos, last start and has continued to build into his preparation.
“Second-up was a really good run and he will map well on Saturday,” O’Shea said.
“He is at the top of his game this week.”
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