Sprinting Stars – Mahogany

If there are two things we learnt during the Turf Heroes series, they are that (1) a surprising number of people seem to like reading about champion thoroughbreds; and (2) Cliff can’t shut up about such horses. With that in mind, Making The Nut is pleased to bring you a ten-part ‘Sprinting Stars’ series, where Cliff Bingham will look back upon the short course specialists who scorched turf at the highest level. Part two of the series looks at another of the Lee Freedman stable, the enigmatic Mahogany. Yep, Mahogany.

Previous instalments of the Sprinting Stars series:

Part 1: Schillaci

 

The career

Mahogany made his debut in November 1992 in a Listed two year-old race over 1000 metres at Sandown, where he ran fourth to Justice Prevails. He then won a colts and geldings race at Moonee Valley over the same distance before being sent out for a spell.

In the autumn of 1993, he was placed twice in Melbourne before heading to Brisbane for their most prestigious two year-old races. A win at Doomben over 1200 metres and a second placing over 1500 metres at Eagle Farm had him primed for the Group 1 QTC Sires Produce, where he duly saluted the judge first. He backed up this result with a second Group 1 victory nine days later in the Castlemaine Stakes (nowadays the TJ Smith) over 1600 metres to cap off a successful northern campaign.

After a short spell, he resumed at Randwick in August 1993, winning the Up and Coming Stakes over 1200 metres and running fourth in the Group 3 Roman Consul Stakes behind Jetball a fortnight later over the same journey. Yet it wasn’t the sprints that he was set for that spring – rather, owner Lloyd Williams was eyeing off wins in two of the biggest Group 1 races for three year-olds in the Melbourne spring – the Caulfield Guineas and VRC Derby.

As a final lead-in to the Caulfield Guineas, Mahogany went to Newcastle for the Listed (nowadays Group 3) Spring Stakes, where on a wet track he ran second to Mistador. His luck would turn when heading south though – a firmer track and a favourable barrier draw saw him to advantage in the Caulfield Guineas. You know what they say about suckers and even breaks – Mahogany cashed in and recorded his third Group 1 victory of 1993.

He was well fancied in his next run, the Group 3 (nowadays Group 2) AAMI Vase at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day, but was well beaten when third to Zaremba. However on VRC Derby Day, the stars aligned once more and he posted a most emphatic victory to close out his preparation. Four Group 1 victories in a calendar year was a phenomenal return, but the well was far from being tapped out.

In January 1994 he resumed on an Australian Guineas – AJC Derby path, attempting to once again chalk up Group 1 victories at both a mile and a mile and a half in the one preparation.

His first run was a victory over 1000 metres at Sandown, highlighting his capacity to run exceptionally well when fresh – hold that thought for a few more paragraphs. A win in the Listed Vanuatu Stakes over 1400 metres at Flemington brought him to his peak for the Group 1 Australian Guineas, where he continued to dominate his age bracket with yet another victory at the top level.

His next assignment doubled as his first against older horses – the Group 1 Australian Cup. Despite putting in a brave performance, he was unable to get the better of the more seasoned gallopers and finished third to Durbridge, himself a multiple Group 1 winner.

Heading north to Sydney and resuming the battles against his three year-old cohort, he won the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes well and despite a wet track was once again supreme at Group 1 level in the AJC Derby, emulating his VRC Derby performance and capturing an amazing quadrella of Group 1 races: the Caulfield and Australian Guineas, along with the VRC and AJC Derbies. This was sufficient for him to also claim Australian Horse of the Year honours for 1994.

At the end of his campaign he had won 12 races (including six at Group 1 level) and placed six times from just 20 races – he had never finished worse than fourth. Could he replicate these feats in the open-age category? Only time would tell.

His Melbourne spring campaign began with a bang, as he posted another first-up win (this time in the Group 2 Liston Stakes) and followed that up with a win in the Group 2 Craiglee Stakes (now known as the Makybe Diva Stakes). With both wins coming at WFA level and his credentials over 2400 metres well established, it seemed like he would prove immensely difficult to hold out in a race such as the Cox Plate.  

He would not even front the starter at Moonee Valley in October though, as his form tapered off quickly – a third behind Jeune in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes was followed by a disappointing seventh (of nine runners) behind Redding in the Group 2 (now Group 1) Turnbull Stakes, with Freedman sending Mahogany for a spell after this run.

For a dual Derby winner the next move was a very surprising one. Mahogany resumed in February 1995 in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes, his first run over 1000 metres since early 1994 and atypical of a horse being aimed at the ‘classics’. Yet his amazing ability when fresh prevailed once again, as he posted a seventh Group 1 victory.

His next assignment was the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield, against a small but elite field including Melbourne Cup winner Jeune and stablemate Schillaci. In a classic finish, Mahogany was fourth to his stablemate, albeit only beaten by three quarters of a length. He then finished second to Hareeba in the Group 2 Stanley Wootton Stakes and seventh to the same galloper in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, his only Sydney run of the campaign.

For the second consecutive preparation, he had started strongly but tapered off as the campaign went on. So when the spring of 1995 rolled around, Freedman decided to mix it up a little. He put Mahogany into the Craiglee Stakes over 1600 metres first-up, where he ran a narrow second to the fit and in-form Jeune. He then gave his star galloper seven weeks off before running him in the Group 1 Cox Plate second-up over 2040 metres.

The Cox Plate itself featured a vintage ride by Greg Hall. He hustled Mahogany from a wide gate to be well positioned at the first turn, got him to subsequently relax around the back of the track, edged wide coming past the school to work past some tiring horses, switched back to the rail on the corner to save ground, snuck past Octagonal inside the final 100 metres and rode for dear life to the finish. But in the final summation, the quality of ‘The Big O’ and the 10.5 kilo pull in the weights won the day, with Mahogany gallant in defeat.

Despite a winless spring campaign it had become clear that Mahogany liked his runs well spaced and his trackwork kept to a minimum between runs, and this became the template for the rest of his career. His short autumn 1996 campaign followed this pattern but was something of a disappointment, with a fourth to Racer’s Edge in the Group 1 Orr Stakes followed by an eighth to Ravarda in the George Ryder Stakes.

In the spring of 1996 Freedman threw another curveball, entering the now six year-old Mahogany in the Group 2 Hill Stakes over 1900 metres first-up from a spell. The plan would fail badly though, as he failed to beat a single runner home, finishing nine lengths off the winner Saintly. It would be his last career run at a distance exceeding 1400 metres.

Undeterred, the team headed back to Melbourne and seven weeks later Mahogany lined up for the Group 2 Linlithgow Stakes (now the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic) at Flemington. A return to fresh sprinting was just the tonic, bringing about his first win in 21 months.

The autumn campaign of 1997 was focused on sprint races with three to five weeks between runs. His first-up effort resulted in a second to Spartacus in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley. Three weeks later, he won a second Lightning Stakes at Flemington, his eighth and final career victory at Group 1 level. He then went to the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap and despite the lumbering handicap of 59.5 kilos ran strongly to finish fourth behind Ruffles. Mahogany headed north for two further runs in the autumn, winning the Listed Endeavour Stakes at Randwick and then running sixth in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 behind Accomplice to end his campaign.

In October 1997 Mahogany resumed as a seven year-old over 1000 metres in the Group 2 Chirnside (now Schillaci) Stakes at Caulfield, keeping his outstanding records both over that distance and first-up from a spell intact with another victory, the 19^th and final win of his career. His only other run in the spring was a third to Al Mansour in the Linlithgow Stakes, while the autumn of 1998 brought with fifth placings in both the Group 1 Orr Stakes and his swansong run in the Stanley Wootton Stakes.

For such a talented galloper it was a more ‘normal’ finish to a racing career than befitted a journey which had been unique in so many ways.

 

The memories

19 wins overall, 13 at either Group 1 or Group 2 level, eight Group 1s in all…. so why didn’t he draw the same sort of affection of many other horses in that era with comparable records?

Given his accomplishments on the track he was an oft-maligned galloper. Described on occasions as inconsistent, sour, unreliable and perhaps in need of psychiatrist, the criticisms were often overstated and unfair. So let’s try to put a few things into proper perspective.

As noted earlier, as a three year-old he won the Caulfield and Australian Guineas, along with the VRC and AJC Derbies. Ignore the Australian Guineas for a moment and consider that the last horse to win the Caulfield Guineas – VRC Derby – AJC Derby treble was Tulloch in 1957 – heady company indeed.

After his second Lightning Stakes win, Lee Freedman was quoted as saying that Mahogany was "the best weight-for-age sprinter I have trained – even better than Schillaci" – once again, heady company for his name to be (quite legitimately) placed among.

In some sense he was unlucky to come along in an era where first Schillaci and then Octagonal were the public darlings – two thoroughbreds who always gave it their all, never shrunk from adversity and showed that a greater will to win can often prove to be the difference. Against that backdrop, Mahogany’s disdain for hard work or tough, extended racing campaigns made him appear lazier and more ‘entitled’ than he truly was – a dangerous mix when you think about which traits of sports stars that Australians hold most dear to their hearts.

He may have also received ‘penalty marks’ for not being able to replicate the frequency of his juvenile wins (against a far from stellar crop) in the open age categories. He won 12 and placed in six of 20 races as a two and three year-old, but only posted seven wins and six placings from 23 runs thereafter.

Yet his talents, first as two and three year-old and subsequently as an open-age sprinter, simply cannot be denied. Between the ages of four and seven, his record over distances shorter than 1400 metres reads as follows: 11 starts, five wins (four of which were races forming part of the Sprinting Stars ‘criteria’), three placings and three unplaced runs. Only once was he beaten by more than three lengths in those 11 races. 

From a personal perspective, if asked to choose between Schillaci and Mahogany, I would opt for the big grey. Nonetheless, we will see ten more horses replicate the deeds of Schillaci before we see another horse win the same combination of sprinting, mile and staying races as Mahogany did. He truly was one out of the box.

 

The stats

Overall record: 43 starts, 19 wins (8 x Group 1s, 5 x Group 2s, 0 x Group 3s), seven seconds, five thirds, $3,668,478 prize money

2YO spring (1992): Two starts, one win

2YO autumn/ winter (1993): Six starts, three wins (2 x G1), two seconds, one third

3YO spring (1993): Six starts, three wins (2 x G1), one second, one third

3YO autumn (1994): Six starts, five wins (2 x G1, 1 x G2), one third

4YO winter/ spring (1994): Four starts, two wins (2 x G2), one third

4YO summer/ autumn (1995): Four starts, one win (1 x G1), one second

5YO spring (1995): Two starts, two seconds

5YO autumn (1996): Two starts

6YO spring (1996): Two starts, one win (1 x G2)

6YO autumn: (1997): Five starts, two wins (1 x G1), one second

7YO spring (1997): Two starts, one win (1 x G2), one third

7YO autumn: (1998): Two starts

 

Turf Heroes series

Just in case you missed them the first time around, links to each of our Turf Heroes series are below:

(1) Super Impose, (2) Better Loosen Up, (3) Let’s Elope,(4) Octagonal, (5) Saintly, (6) Might and Power, (7) Sunline, (8) Northerly, (9) Lonhro, (10) Makybe Diva