Mr Mozart has continued his autumn form surge, fending off a late charge from outsider Dalchini to give Hawkes Racing a second win in the Hawkesbury Guineas.
The stable last claimed the 1400m race in 2014 with Chautauqua, who went on to become a multiple Group 1 winner and champion sprinter.
Mr Mozart has turned his form around on the wet tracks in Sydney this autumn and Saturday’s Group 3 race was his third successive stakes win following victories in the Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) and Doncaster Prelude (1500m) last month.
The colt was slightly slow to jump before mustering speed to take up his usual frontrunning role and jockey Willie Pike said he didn’t panic despite the slow beginning.
“I was tardy away. I had him ready for quite a while….and you only get their attention for twenty, maybe thirty seconds and when they didn’t let us go, they seemed to hold us a little bit longer, I just lost him for that split moment and of course, that’s when they opened (the gates),” Pike said.
“I told myself in the run actually, he has done this every start. He’s done work early in all his starts I’ve ridden him in, so I thought I’d better not change the pattern.
“I was reasonably confident the whole way. Just that last bit when I felt one coming I thought, ‘oh no” but it was never passing us.
“He waits until they get to him and then he fights.”
Starting a $2.05 favourite, Mr Mozart just lasted to beat Dalchini ($71) with filly Party For One ($9) third.
