Mazu reaffirmed his class with a commanding display in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes at Randwick, going back-to-back in the 1200m feature and earning himself another shot at Brisbane’s Winter Carnival riches.

The Joe Pride-trained six-year-old was given a patient ride by Jamie Melham, sitting behind the speed before bursting through a gap to hit the front near the 100m and cruise to a comfortable victory.

A former winner of the Doomben 10,000, Mazu ($4.40) had not won since claiming the Hall Mark 12 months earlier. He made it count on Saturday, defeating stablemate Coal Crusher ($9.50) by 1-1/2 lengths with Givemethebeatboys ($19) finishing third.

“Jamie seems to have a real affinity with this horse and we’ll see if we can get her on for something maybe up in Queensland,” Pride said.

“Mazu is a weight-for-age winner, he’s a Doomben 10,000 winner.

“The sprinters probably aren’t at that elite level this year so we’ll probably freshen him up and give him a couple of targets there in Brisbane.”

The race setup proved ideal for Mazu, who got the better of an awkwardly positioned Coal Crusher while pouncing late.

“It was a funny run race in the end,” Pride added.

“He was coming up underneath them and Ostraka didn’t seem to want to cross and that kept Coal Crusher in an awkward position.

“Coal Crusher ran bravely as well, it was a good run, and Dragonstone probably had things against him coming from back in the field.”

Melham, who has now twice steered Mazu to Hall Mark Stakes success, again showed his class with a tactical ride.

“I love this horse,” Melham said.

“He’s a horse you can’t tell what to do, you’ve got to ask him.

“It’s up to him. If he brings his best, he brings his best and he’s normally too good for them and today he decided to.

“It probably looked messy the first half of the race but I love when you can finally get a sit on him and only expose him for that 200m, because if you expose him for the whole straight sometimes his brain overthinks things. But it worked out perfectly today.”