Private Eye and Mazu play to the strength of Australian racing: they are sprinters that will race for the big prizes in the sport for the next couple of years for connections who bought their shares from syndicators Proven Thoroughbreds and Triple Crown.
They will meet for a fifth time in the group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. Private Eye has finished less than a length in front of Mazu on three occasions, so they are that closely matched.
Private Eye charges past Mazu to win the Nature Strip Stakes in the springCredit: Getty
The other occasion was a day to forget for Private Eye in the TJ Smith. He was taken out of the race by interference as Mazu finished third behind I Wish I Win and Giga Kick.
“It is great to see our colours and Proven being so competitive in these races. It is a bit of friendly rivalry,” Triple Crown principal Michael Ward said. “We compete at the sales and on the track week in, week out, but these are the races where everyone notices us.
“We would like to think Mazu can get the win over them on the weekend. Mazu has been set for this race and I think the 1400m will be perfect for him.
“Peter and Paul Snowden tell us he is ready to run to his best and, hopefully, that is good enough to win another group 1.”
Mazu already has his Everest slot locked away. He will run for The Star-Arrowfield partnership, which means everything can be focused on the $15 million showcase in October.
Mazu was third behind Giga Kick in the Everest last year in a photo finish for second with Private Eye, which beat him again by a small margin in the Nature Strip Stakes a couple of weeks later.
They met again in the Newmarket Handicap, where they were on different sides of the track and finished a long head apart in the fourth and fifth positions.
“Apart from the TJ, which was a non-event for us, we have had the better of Mazu, but there is not much between them,” Proven Thoroughbreds’ Jamie Walter admitted. “They are two very good horses and show that anyone can get involved a good horse in Australia.”
Mazu and Private Eye remain close in betting for the All Aged Stakes. Mazu is at $8 and Private Eye at $8.50 in a market that has Giga Kick as the $3 favourite.
Walter has to be careful where he places Private Eye because he still needs to secure an Everest slot.
“Private Eye has only been trained as a sprinter for the past six months and Joe [Pride] thinks he is flying. We just need the right track for him to show that,” Walter said. “After the interference, Brenton [Avdulla] was very kind to him, and we still have a horse at the top of his powers for the All Aged.
“We wouldn’t want to run him on a heavy track because with these horses you are on show every time you step out.
“Horses like Mazu and Private Eye are probably going to run against each other a lot and only have six to eight runs a year, so you want to make every run count.
“Private Eye is better on firmer tracks, and we could wait for Queensland to show him off in a Kingsford Smith Cup if it is wet.
“He is a horse that we are very confident can win in whatever races he runs in, but we want to make sure he has the track to show his best.”
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