November 4, 2024Derby day success for Newhaven-bred sprinter
Newhaven Park-bred Maharba played a major supporting role on 2024 VRC Derby Day at Flemington when scoring a determined victory in the Group 3 G.H. Mumm Rising Fast Stakes (1200m) for our great friends Gaz & Maz Towzell and the Grahame Begg stable.
Ridden by Jordan Childs and opposed by a healthy number of noted straight track specialists, Maharba produced a strong late surge towards the inside of the track to score in a three-way photo-finish from Rey Magnero and Charm Stone.
The 5-year-old son of the tremendously versatile Coolmore Stud stallion Pride of Dubai took his record to four wins and five placings from just 13 career starts, for earnings now in excess of $640,000. Moreover, three of those four wins have come in black-type company, Maharba having also won the Listed VRC Talindert Stakes (1100m) as a 2-year-old and the Listed Mornington RC Hareeba Stakes (1200m) in April of this year.
Speaking after the win, trainer Grahame Begg remarked: “He’s a very tough horse and he races very well up the straight. He’s going particularly well and he’s a very honest horse with a great record.”
Begg added: “He puts in every time he goes to the races and Darryl Towzell and Maz up there in Wagga, they’ll be over the moon. It’ll be a big night in Wagga tonight, as it normally is, I must say.”
Maharba is a half-brother to the ill-fated stallion Unencumbered, who was also bred by Newhaven Park. The Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner of 2014, Unencumbered emerged as a sire of Group and Listed Race winners shortly after the son of Testa Rossa suffered an untimely death and had his stud career cut short in March 2018.
Begg indicated that Maharba is very likely to contest the $1 million The Meteorite (1200m) on Cranbourne Cup Day, scheduled for November 23, but also added that he holds an entry for the $1.5 million, Group 1, Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) to be run the following week in Perth, Western Australia.