Veteran sprinter Mazu displayed his usual character pre-race before replicating his dominance at the finish of The Shorts, leaving his competitors trailing in his wake to claim an unexpected win.

Not for the first time, Mazu paused his journey to the starting stalls, refusing to advance for several minutes and kicking out at the horses accompanying the clerk of the course as they attempted to hasten him.

The stand-off eventually concluded, and Mazu channeled his spirited nature into the race, seizing the lead and showing no signs of relinquishing it.

He held on by a neck over Joliestar, with Mazu’s stablemate King’s Secret, trained by Joe Pride, a further nose back in third.

“He walked straight out of here going, no, no I’ll go to the gates, and then stopped up there. Sometimes he can stop two or three times on the way to the gates,” Pride remarked.

“He’s going to beat me sooner or later.

“It’s funny, he’s so reluctant to get there, but then so quick to get home.”

The winner of The Shorts is typically considered for a place in The Everest, but Pride seemed unenthusiastic about pursuing the October feature with the eight-year-old.

Mazu has contested The Everest (1200m) on three occasions, his best result being a third behind Giga Kick in 2022. Pride indicated that while the owners would have the final say, his personal inclination was not to challenge the formidable Ka Ying Rising from Hong Kong.

“To be fair to him, he’s had a few goes in Everests and it’s not really his race,” Pride stated.

“The only thing I would say is if on the day it was wet, he’d probably be in the contest. But other than that, running a nice sixth or seventh doesn’t interest me a lot.”

Pride referred to Mazu as “an old marvel” and expressed great satisfaction with the victory in The Shorts (1100m) on Saturday, as well as the performance of stablemate King’s Secret.

Both sprinters are likely to face each other again later in the carnival, although their next starts might be in different races.

“They could both end up in the Premiere Stakes, but I think maybe with King’s Secret he’ll find a bit more improvement off that run than some of the others, so either the Premiere here or the Gilgai Stakes down in Melbourne, which his brother (Private Eye) won,” Pride suggested.

“The Sydney Stakes is a likely race for them both, and maybe the Russell Balding Stakes as well.”

Rachel King has developed a strong association with Mazu, riding him in his last six starts, including his Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) win in April. She commented that he consistently gives his best, despite his quirks.

“They should never forget about him. He’s so honest,” King said.

“Even though he gives us hell before the race, he really wants to be there.”

In a race where the backmarkers found it difficult to make an impact, the riders of Everest hopefuls Joliestar (second), Headwall (fifth), and Ninja (ninth) all provided positive feedback for their horses under the circumstances.

“It was gifted to the horses on speed. He ran well,” Tommy Berry said of Ninja, the only horse currently confirmed for an Everest slot.

With Mazu’s impressive win in The Shorts, punters can check the latest betting sites for odds on future feature races.