‘We just had to back ourselves’: The story of Mr Maestro, a solo performer’s biggest act so far

When Andrew Forsman rolled into the Karaka Sales on New Zealand’s North Island early in 2021, he was keen to take a look at Mr Maestro.

The bay colt’s mum Let Me Roar had won six of her seven starts for the Murray Baker-Forsman stable before her brilliance on the track ended prematurely when she went amiss.

Not only had she made an impression, Let Me Roar was also the half-sister to Lion Tamer who Forsman had watched thrash his rivals on a soft track in the 2010 Victoria Derby at Flemington, having helped the legendary Baker prepare him for the staying race as his travelling foreman.

Mr Maestro with Aoife Brennan from the Andrew Forsman camp at the Flemington stables.Credit:Scott McNaughton

The way Mr Maestro conducted himself at the sales, however, put a few people off as he danced around but Forsman was undeterred.

“I saw a lot of Lion Tamer in Mr Maestro. [He was] a compact, well-muscled horse,” Forsman said.

He has a good eye, having started worked in the mornings for Baker while studying film and television in Cambridge and then working part-time as a cameraman for Trackside where he realised he preferred horses to cameras.

That eye had been put to good use, too, in buying Jon Snow (which won the 2018 AJC Derby) at Karaka, so he backed himself to buy Mr Maestro, whose sire was the versatile Savabeel, with a Derby in mind.

Mr Maestro (left) with Harry Coffey aboard, taking out the Neds Classic.Credit:Getty Images

Mr Maestro won one race as a two-year-old but no-one was perturbed. A foundation was being laid for success to occur down the track.

In May 2022, Baker retired after a brilliant training career that yielded 22 group 1 wins in Australia and Forsman went solo, immediately looking to the spring and booking a ticket from his Cambridge stable to take Mr Maestro to the races in Victoria.

Andrew Forsman with Harry Coffey after Mr Maestro claimed the Neds Classic at Caulfield.Credit:Racing Photos

“It’s hard at home in June/July. There are no suitable races for a three-year-old if you want to get them up over a bit of ground,” Forsman said. “We just had to back ourselves.”

Mr Maestro’s first race at Sandown occurred on August 7, just a week into his three-year-old year and three months into Forsman’s solo career as a trainer.

That race was a virtual trial as he began to build his fitness under Australian skies with a promising run at Moonee Valley leading into 1800 metres at Flemington at his third start in Melbourne. The penny dropped, and he easily accounted for his rivals.

He won his next two and now heads into the strongest Derby for years as one of the fancied runners alongside Sharp ‘n’ Smart and Berkeley Square, who arrived at the race via different paths. Coincidentally, Sharp ‘n’ Smart is under the care of Graeme Rogerson, the sometimes-brash trainer who guided the then three-year-old Savabeel to Cox Plate glory.

The depth of talent in the field makes the result hard to predict, with Mr Maestro’s job made a little harder when he drew the outside barrier, giving jockey Damien Lane something to think about.

But Forsman’s mind was at ease, his relationship with Baker over many years giving him the confidence he would pull the right rein for the Derby, knowing there were some aspects of racing – such as the weather – no one can control.

“[Murray] had a great knack of finding one to get to Australia, to see what it takes to get over here and get the job done,” Forsman said.

If Forsman can get the job done at his first solo appearance he may well be known as Mr Maestro, himself, by late Saturday night.

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