O’Shea cuts to the chase of prizemoney with Zou Tiger and Maximal

Randwick trainer John O’Shea had eyes on the stallion barn for Zou Tiger and Maximal, but his attention has turned to making them racehorses.

The pair will line up in the listed Carrington Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday as geldings for the first time.

“It’s not a hard decision to make with either of them because performance indicated that they aren’t going to be stallions,” O’Shea said. “They had their chances.

“Zou Tiger had his opportunities as a three-year-old to get the job done, running placings in the Golden Rose and the Randwick Guineas.

“But once he wasn’t commercial we decided that he would be better as a gelding, and, with the prizemoney around these days, you want to give them every chance to get as much as possible on the track.

“Maximal is a three-quarter brother to Frankel and was brought out here as a possible stallion and was a head away from getting that done in the Turnbull Stakes.

“He has had a suspensory injury, and we thought the best way forward with him was as a gelding. It’s just good to have him back, and it will be interesting to see what level he can get too.”

Zou Tiger, Maximal and Waihaha Falls, which joins the other pair in the Carrington, are among a handy team at the Randwick stable, which does not have an out-and-out star.

O’Shea continues to look for one to replace Lost And Running, which has been the best horse to enter the stable since the trainer left Godolphin six years ago.

“We have a few younger horses that could step up, and horses like these [in the Carrington] that can be competitive at a good level,” O’Shea said. “We are always looking for that next star, and we haven’t had many of those proper group 1 horses.

“We have a lot of horses at the same level, and, although you don’t like racing them against each other, it’s the right race on Saturday that fits each of their preparations. They probably won’t meet again.”

The Carrington Stakes appears to come at the right time for Zou Tiger, which is third up and was a game second behind Rubamos last time. His record stands at one win in 12 starts, but he has had seven minor placings that have mostly been at stakes level.

“He has come back really well and just needed a couple of runs to get to his peak,” O’Shea said. “He should get a similar run to last time, and I think he will be a little stronger.”

Zou Tiger is a $5.50 chance, and Maximal has been supported from $8 in to $6.50. Waihaha Falls appears value at $9.50 after his charging win against the bias at Randwick in a benchmark 100 before Christmas.

“He got a little cut in the ground that day, which he really enjoys, and I think this trip is probably his best at the moment,” O’Shea said of Waihaha Falls. “He will eventually get a mile I think, and, with there being plenty of speed here, he will get his chance to finish over the top of them again.

“Looking at the market, he is a little forgotten.”

Maximal, which has only a single win in 17 starts, hasn’t been seen since the spring of 2022 but has been good in a couple of barrier trials leading into his return.

“He has had a long time off, so we wanted to get him back early and let him get some racing under his belt and see where he fits in,” O’Shea said. “He has always had good talent, and we will step him up in distance as the preparation continues.

“I think he will be improving his winning record from now on.”

O’Shea also has Junqueira in at Randwick after a trip to the Gold Coast, where she won the Magic Millions Rising Stars before blowing the start in the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares.

“That’s her, she can be hit and miss in the gates. If she gets away and gets her spot she is always hard to beat; if she doesn’t, you get what happened in the $1 million race,” O’Shea said. “She gets a good barrier jockey in Nash Rawiller and that could make a big difference.”

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