Maharba slips in to Sydney on Sires mission
Maharba slips in to Sydney on Sires mission
We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.
When Melbourne trainer Grahame Begg sat down a couple of months ago to work out the best way for Maharba to win the Sires Produce Stakes during The Championships, Saturday’s Pago Pago Stakes was clearly the best option to get there.
While others were focused on next week’s Golden Slipper, Begg was prepared to wait for the Sires with a raw but talented two-year-old that only joined his stable just before Christmas.
“We didn’t even think about the Slipper. It didn’t enter discussions,” Begg said. “We looked the Sires and worked out what was the best way to get there with a limited preparation.
“He wasn’t entered for the Slipper and, even if he was to win the Pago Pago on Saturday, we won’t be paying the $155,000 late entry. Here’s up there for the Sires.
“There was a good program to get him to a group 1 with a bit of experience, which we think he will be really suited to in terms of distance.”
Maharba returns to a track where he ran fourth to Barber in the Golden Gift when under the care of David Payne. At his first outing for Begg, he was too good down straight over 1100m in the Talindert Stakes at Flemington.
It was the win of a two-year-old that will stretch out in trip.
“When we put this program together, I would have preferred the Talindert to be a couple of weeks later because of where we were with him,” Begg said.
“It was good to see him be really strong late at Flemington, and the natural progression was to go to 1200m. That’s why he is in Sydney and not running in the Sires down here.
“It has been a good horse’s race, the Talindert, and I think he will continue that reputation.”
Maharba is a son of a Sires Produce winner Pride of Dubai, and Begg can see him improving with every run.
“He is just a big raw horse that we are going to be able to enjoy for a few years to come,” Begg said.
Maharba has been well supported into $3.20 in Pago Pago betting to unseat Introducing ($3.50) as the favourite. Shinzo is third pick at $4.80. Both the next two in betting need to win on Saturday to secure a place in the Golden Slipper.
