Kiwi star is the Man

By Tim O’Connor (HRV)

He may only be here in Australia because some of his compatriots aren’t, but New Zealander Majestic Man showed he will be a major player in all the upcoming squaregaiting features with a second victory in the TAB V L Dullard Trotters Cup at Tabcorp Park Melton last Saturday night.

Trainer Merv Williamson recently stated he was only sending the eight-year-old overseas due to the absence of Kiwi big guns like Sundees Son, Bolt For Brilliance and Muscle Mountain, and the trip has returned instant dividends.

After initially being held out for the lead by Sundons Courage, Williamson’s son Brad continued to pour the pressure on and eventually found the top with Majestic Man down the back straight the first time. And that’s where he stayed, fending off all the challengers in the run home to score by just under 3m over Queen Elida, with Just Believe (Tubbs/Sugars) getting third on protest from Sundons Courage for interference near the line.

“His last run at Cambridge (NZ) – it was okay. He won, but he didn’t feel as though he was on top of his game,” Brad said.

“Having missed a couple of races in Auckland that they didn’t hold, he might have just needed that run a little bit.

“He’s certainly bounced off that run at Cambridge, come here a better horse and raced well.”

Majestic Man’s next major target is this Friday night’s Woodlands Stud Great Southern Star, an event he contested in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“He’ll go there and then whether he goes to the Knight Pistol or the Grand Prix, I’m not too sure. We’ll just go race-by-race and let Dad assess how he thinks the horse is,” Brad said.

“Night one has been a success, so hopefully with the big one this week he can get a bit of luck with draws and what have you and put his best foot forward.”

Majestic Man has now won 24 of 84 career starts for prizemoney in excess of $750,000.