Maher chasing more Anzac Day Stakes honours

Promising youngster Amazake is shaping as a potential spring prospect for the Ciaron Maher stable, lining up this Friday in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at Flemington.

The gelding made an eye-catching debut over the same distance on March 29, finishing a strong second behind Prestige Ole, who he meets again this week.

Maher has won the Anzac Day feature twice before—first with Throssell in 2016 and then with the top-class Merchant Navy in 2017. While Throssell didn’t go on with it, Merchant Navy became a Group 1 winner in Australia and the UK, including in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Unlike Merchant Navy, Amazake looks to be bred for more ground, and the stable already has bigger targets in mind.

“On pedigree, without going too early, he’s potentially a Derby type if he stays,” assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said.

“That’s his page, but he’ll get to a mile and a little further fairly quickly.

“To race the way he did on debut sets him up to go to Friday and then whether we pull up stumps and have a rest for the spring, I’m not sure, but he’s very likeable.”

A jump-out at Avoca on April 14 served as a maintenance gallop for Amazake between runs.

“He had a tick over jump-out. We used it as a gallop as we are a month between runs and he’s been really good since,” Turnbull added.

“He’s really professional, he’s a competitor.

“We were on the fence about his ability when we debuted him at Flemington.

“We knew he went OK, but we thought he might come unstuck a little bit, but he got into a really good spot, travelled well and put in a really good effort.”

Amazake is $7.50 in early betting markets behind Legacy Bound ($2.70) and Stay Cosmic ($6.50).