Raced by Australia Bloodstock and partners, Mugatoo was making his first appearance in five months and came from last with an irresistible finish to land the Listed Iron Jack Winter Challenge and a springboard to higher future honours.
The 5-year-old won twice in England before relocating and made an instant impression in Australia with three successive wins before he finished runner-up in the G3 Manion Cup and ended his first campaign when sixth in the G1 Tancred S.
“He got through the grades pretty quickly and he’d probably had enough come Tancred day. He has freshened well and he’ll be nominated for all the feature races, we’ll give him his chance,” Lees said.
The Newcastle conditioner said Mugatoo had been making all the right moves ahead of Saturday’s 1500 metre contest and had hoped for a genuinely-run race on Saturday.
Kris Lees (left)
“He probably got a better tempo than it looked like on paper, but he picked up some nice horses and was strong through the line and that's exactly what we wanted to see,” he said.
“He took a bit of time to relax and was a bit fresh in the early stages, but he got that nice tempo and he looked the winner a long way from home and it was good to see him react the way he did.
“He’s got a bit of brilliance about him and he’s a horse you could set for a race anywhere from 1500 metres to 2400 metres and he’d make his presence felt.”
“He’s got a bit of brilliance about him and he’s a horse you could set for a race anywhere from 1500 metres to 2400 metres and he’d make his presence felt.” – Kris Lees
Mugatoo’s dashing finish from the back under rider Hugh Bowman proved too good for Sambro (Fastnet Rock) with the free-going Taikomochi (Snitzel) holding on valiantly to third from Order Again (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}).
“Class will get them a long way and I couldn’t worry about whether I would get there at the half-mile, I just had to keep my horse comfortable and made the mid-race move to tack on three wide from the 700 metre mark,” Bowman said.
“I was able to increase into the race without spending any energy and he’s certainly a fast horse and he showed that in the final stages.”
Mugatoo is likely to make his next appearance in the G3 Premier’s Cup, where he will step up to 1900 metres.
“I think he still looks very wintery in the coat and he’s got good improvement in him. I know Kris has got a high opinion of him and he put the writing on the wall during the last preparation, he’s got an exciting future,” Bowman said.
“I think he still looks very wintery in the coat and he’s got good improvement in him.” – Hugh Bowman
Mugatoo was a dual winner up to 2900 metres in England for Newmarket trainer David Simcock before his relocation to Australia.
He is half-brother to the Listed winner Elik (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) with their dam the well-performed mare Elopa (Ger) (Tiger Hill {Ire}).
She won the G2 Saint-Cloud Prix Corrida and the G3 Prix Allez France and is a half-sister to the G1 Singapore Airlines Invitation Cup winner Epalo (Ger) (Lando {Ger}).
It is also the family of the international Group winners Eagle Rise (Ire) (Danehill {USA}), Eye Of The Tiger (Ger) (Tiger Hill {Ire}) and Trust You (GB) (Kheleyf {USA}).
Mugatoo’s victory completed a Rosehill double for Lees and Australian Bloodstock, whose colours were also successful aboard Korcho (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) in the ASX Refinitiv Charity Foundation H.
He was successful three times from Hughie Morrison’s Newbury yard and posted his first win on Australian soil at Rosehill a fortnight ago, before a successful return on Saturday.
