On the anniversary of the biggest win of his career so far, classy New Zealand-bred gelding Mr Maestro will race in black-type company on Caulfield Cup Day again in 2023 – this time in his first run back from an injury lay-off.
Andrew Forsman has trained two previous victors of the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) in partnership with mentor Murray Baker, and he is hoping he can claim one in his own right at Te Rapa this weekend.
The Andrew Forsman-trained Mr Maestro turned in another strong performance when second to the impressive Pericles in the Gr.2 Autumn Classic (1800m) at Sandown on Saturday.
The irony of Aegon running at the highest level in Australia in what may arguably be a lesser challenge for more than double the prizemoney of a feature event at home hasn’t been lost on Andrew Forsman.
Victorian-based jockey Daniel Stackhouse had a whale of a time on his last visit home and the expatriate Kiwi horseman was quick to accept an invitation to return for Saturday’s Pukekohe meeting.
A sizeable investment by the connections of Ethereal Star will be handsomely rewarded if the well-related filly continues her winning form on Saturday.
Andrew Forsman has taken a significant step toward building on past successes in Australia with the announcement he will extend his training operation to a base in Victoria.
