The first Group 1 of the season is at Moonee Valley this weekend with a top class field lining up for the Manikato Stakes. Manikato was an Australian Champ whom many regard as the best sprinter from our shores along with Vain, Schillaci & Takeover Target. He won the William Reid (now known as the Australia Stakes) five times at this track and distance and was the second horse in Australian history to pass the magical-million dollar mark after Kingston Town after Kingston Town remarkably won his third Cox Plate. Manikato even pushed the ill-fated Dulcify to 2 lengths in the Australian Cup over 2000m despite being a sprinter. He was a champion.
The Manikato field this year is as good as it gets. 8 horses are Group 1 winners from 10 runners. The flash 3yos take on the seasoned stars. Champion status can be up for grabs for any runner in this races if they win. Returnofthedancer returns on Saturday after a 5 month break. He has won this race the last 2 years and he is a Silver Arrow Series winner and it will be very interesting to see how he goes. All For Dansilver has been around the best for a long time and I have the privelige of training him for the first time. He has won the Goodwood Handicap two times and if he runs top 5 I'll be stoked. People's Champ is another up-and-comer with awesome Group 1 form. He has beaten the likes of Bro'Town & Fur Will Fly in recent starts. Fireheart, who is resuming from a long break smashed People's Champ as a two-year-old at Group 1 level but I think People's Champ may turn the tables this time. Bellfast Cat is another Group 1 winner who ran close up in this last year and is in winning form. Maroon Lodge is on-the-up and he looks capable of filling a place as he is so consistent.
The interesting runner in the race is Yeager. He ran many high rating races at the end of his last racing season and has now joined the Olmo Dorato yard. A positive is that Ettore has put him in the race instead of Mr Purler & Flawless Tower, who'd both be geniune winning chances. That says heaps for Yeagers chances. Rocket is a superstar and his only run against the older horses was a close defeat to Run Missy Run in the Lightning Stakes. He is an iron horse. Life On Mars is my tip. She has already beat champion Run Missy Run. She has already proven herself at this level. I am tipping an upset with her beating Rocket, Returnofthedancer & People's Champ. Chances at odds are Yeager, All For Dansilver and Bellfast Cat.
For the other races on the card at Moonee Valley there are two very good pointers for 3yo racing later in the spring.
6- William Crockett Stakes 3.20
1000m $50,000 and trophy. 3yof. No claims. SW
1 3703s BORGATA ROMANA, 1 Olmo Dorato 55 2.50f
2 2667s SPIDER NAEVI, 5 Starfish Stables 55 10.00
3 8255s CHARLOT VILLE, 2 Cavalier Stables 55 6.00
4 352s MS ORIGINAL, 4 Bally Doyle 55 8.00
5 0004s DESDEMONA, 3 Rivendell Stables 55 15.00
6 04s SPIRITOFSEYCHELLES, 6 Whisperwood 55 15.00
Borgata Romana 1, Ms Original 2, Spider Naevi 3, Charlot Ville 4
8- Mitchell McKenzie Stakes 4.40
1000m $50,000 and trophy. 3yo. No claims. SW
1 1511s HASHIMOTOS, 9 Touchdown Farms 55 2.40f
2 5370s ETERNO, 7 FDL Lodge 55 10.00
3 0929s GLAUCO, 8 Yeguarda Lore Toki 55 16.00
4 0937s BEACH JIVIN, 2 Watch This Space 55 7.00
5 54s DARE TO WIN, 6 Under The Weeping Moon 55 9.00
6 0004s BOLERO, 3 Olmo Dorato 55 21.00
7 90s AMAZING, 1 KRF Stables 55 31.00
8 0s CRITICAL BRIDLE, 5 Hoosier Daddy Farms 55 41.00
9 VICTORY REVOLUTION, 10 The Priory Stables 55 16.00
10 0s CHARMED, 4 Whisperwood 53 41.00
Eterno 1, Hashimatos 2, Glauco 3, Dare To Win 4
7- Cleanevent Manikato Stakes 4.00
1200m $200,000 and trophy. 3yo & up. G1. WFA. No claims.
1 53s2s RETURNOFTHEDANCER, 7 Oak Tree Stables 58 8.00
2 4102s ALL FOR DANSILVER, 1 JD Kayll Race Club 58 21.00
3 3115s PEOPLE’S CHAMP, 6 Pointgiven Stables 58 7.50
4 0351s BELLFAST CAT, 2 Victorian Racing Stables 58 26.00
5 1226s MAROON LODGE, 5 Under The Weeping Moon 58 15.00
6 9s52s FIREHEART, 3 Victorian Racing Stables 58 31.00
7 1621s YEAGER, 10 Olmo Dorato 58 15.00
8 1313s ROCKET, 8 Thunder Lodge 48 2.50f
9 66s STERLING, 9 Fleur de lis Stables 48 61.00
10 2123s LIFE ON MARS, 4 FDL Lodge 46 2.60
Life On Mars 1, Rocket 2, Returnofthedancer 3, People’s Champ 4
1 RETURNOFTHEDANCER (Oak Tree Stables) 6c By Forest Dancer- Honest Lady (33:6-15-5): G1: 20: 5-7-3 Distance: 16: 3-8-1
Silver Arrow Sprint Series winner who had an injury interrupted campaign last year and was transferred to Oak Tree Stables at the end of last year. Narrowly accounted for 1- ½ len 2nd (130) Fur Will Fly, Marino 1200m $3.50f Newmarket July Cup G1 yielding trk July 11, last win: never going to be denied ½ len 1st (130) Blazing Risk, Attack At Dawn, All For Dansilver 1200m $4.50 Moonee Valley Manikato Stakes G1 firm trk January 9 (2010). Has been out of the winners circle since winning this last year but is a champion who will be going for a three-peat here and it will be interesting to see if he’s still at his peak.
2 ALL FOR DANSILVER (JD Kayll Race Club) 5c By Dansilver- Camena (42:12-13-4):
G1: 16: 2-4-2 Distance: 17: 4-6-3
Iron horse who ran a close fourth here last year. Tried hard but was narrowly beaten by G1 winning horse nose 2nd (130) Fur Will Fly, Arma Letale 1100m $6.00 Rosehill Gardens Missile Stakes G3 firm trk December 26, last win: toughed it out beating the Elite Thoroughbreds trained Blast Of Storm ¼ len 1st (130) Blast Of Storm, Mighty Gaze, El Pais 1100m $4.00ef Royal Randwick June Stakes firm trk November 7. Transfer of trainers at the end of last campaign. Has tons of guts and determination and if there are chinks in Life On Mars’ armour he will be one of her dangers.
3 PEOPLE’S CHAMP (Pointgiven Stables) 4c By Champ- Camena (23:8-4-4):
G1: 4: 1-1-0 Distance: 9: 5-1-0
Stradbroke winner who has a very good record over the distance. Just a tad outclassed behind the best but was typically honest 3-¾ len 5th (128) Flawless Tower 1000m $7.00 Sha Tin Hong Kong Sprint G1 firm trk December 10, last win: great win 1- ¼ len 1st (119) Fur Will Fly, Eminem, Devil His Brew 1400m $5.50 Eagle Farm Stradbroke Handicap G1 hard trk November 7. Has beaten Fur Will Fly who has beaten All For Dansilver and Returnofthedancer in last few starts. Can’t dismiss him. Great chance.
4 BELLFAST CAT (Victorian Racing Stables) 5c By Bellbuster- Tabasco’s Angel (40: 5-5-12): G1: 10: 1-1-2 Distance: 18: 3-3-6
As honest as they come and won well last start for Victorian Racing. Finished campaign on a high with ¾ len 1st (130) King Of Dubai, Carson Forest, Rain Man 1200m $7.00 Belmont Newmarket firm trk December 26. Ran close up last year in fifth position. Can’t dismiss.
5 MAROON LODGE (Pointgiven Stables) 4c By Shogun Lodge- Nanny Maroon (13:1-4-2):
G1: 4: 1-2-0 Distance: 2: 0-0-2
C.F. Orr Stakes winner who stood up to the big league at the end of his last campaign. Was looking for a spell at the end of campaign but was honest 5- ½ len 6th (116) People’s Champ 1400m $12.00 Eagle Farm Stradbroke Handicap G1 hard trk November 7. Last win: broke maiden convincingly with 2- ¾ len 1st (117) Bold N’ Honorable, Dancin In The Dark, Dizzy Gillespie 1400m $5.50 Caulfield C.F.Orr Stakes G1 yielding trk June 8. Is an emerging star in my opinion. Is on the way up and he has brilliant form of late. Knockout chance.
6 FIREHEART (Victorian Racing Stables) 4c By Forest Dancer- Sparks Fly (13:2-1-2):
G1: 7: 1-1-0 Distance: 5: 1-0-1
Well performed 2yo who is racing after a long break. Beat subsequent Emirates Stakes winner under lights when ¾ len 2nd (122) Royal Kiwi, Castle Rock 1600m $4.00 Moonee Valley Bill Stutt Stakes G2 hard trk February 13. Last win: flogged a top class horse when 8 len 1st (117) People’s Champ, Brimstone, Dallas Cowboys 1600m $6.00 Newmarket Middle Park Plate G1 good trk September 29 (2009). Did flog People’s Champ and beat horses such as Arctic Slicker as a 2yo and that is a great pointer for many races. Whether he comes back as good as he was has to be seen. Place.
7 YEAGER (Olmo Dorato) 4c By Bellbuster- Sweet N’ Sassy (10:2-2-1):
G1: 3: 0-0-1 Distance: 4: 0-0-1
Showed tons of class last campaign and joins the Olmo Dorato yard. Toyed with a sub standard field when 5- ¼ len 1st (127) Linger On, Higher & Higher, Ronton Ripper 1400m $1.80f Ascot Asian Beau Stakes good trk April 30. A great sign from this entry is that Ettore has entered Yeager instead of Mr Purler or Flawless Tower. He has high hopes for this horse and that’s good enough for me. Great chance at odds.
8 ROCKET (Thunder Lodge) 3c By Mars- Sing A Song (18:10-3-5):
G1: 11: 6-1-4 Distance: 4: 2-0-2
Eclipse Award winner for 2yo colt who really handles the fast back-up well. Put a line through the run as it was on dirt which I think he doesn’t particularly like when a 1- ¼ len 3rd (122) Ditko, Badge, Wekiva Slew 1700m $3.50f Hollywood Park Futurity G2 fast trk December 11. Last win: remarkable performance off a quick back-up 2- ¼ len 1st (122) Life On Mars, Suspended Sentence, New Moon On Monday 1600m $2.20f Eagle Farm TJ Smith Classic G1 firm trk November 15. Is a star who gets a good rest before this race. Gets a substantial weight allowance here and that should help him run a great race.
9 STERLING (Fleur de lis Stables) 3c By Congenial- Golden Gourmet (2:0-0-0):
G1: 1: 0-0-0 Distance: no starts
Good potential 2yo who ran two good races last season without winning. Ran a bottler at odds when a 15- ¾ len 6th (111) Pharlane 1400m $26.00 Hollywood Park Preview Stakes G3 fast trk November 13. This is a tough ask first-up for a new trainer but I think this horse will win a decent race this season especially if he does something in this race.
10 LIFE ON MARS (FDL Lodge) 3f By Mars- Scandalous (14:6-5-3):
G1: 8: 4-2-2 Distance: 4: 2-0-2
Eclipse Award winner for 2yo fillies and its hard to argue as already is an open age Group 1 winner beating one of the best of all time in Run Missy Run. Tried hard but was found out by the first two when 11 len 3rd (119) Reward, No More Lies, Liquid Cocaine 1700m $4.50 Hollywood Park Starlet G1 fast trk December 12. Last win: came from the clouds for a super win when a 6- ½ len 1st (117) Daredevil, Ketonuria, Arab Chief 1400m $2.80f Eagle Farm Sires Produce Stakes G1 firm trk October 31. If Run Missy Run was ingaged in this race he’d win and Life On Mars beat him even though RMR was up against it that day. I think she is better over 1200m and gets it here. I think she will beat Rocket for the first time here today.
2010 MANIKATO STAKES RESULTS
1st $4.50 Returnofthedancer 130 (5h By Forest Dancer- Honest Lady (Seattle Slew) Signature Racing Stables
2nd $9.00 Blazing Risk 130 (5h By Blazing Sun- Educated Risk (Mr. Prospector) FDL Lodge 0.65L behind winner
3rd $4.00f Attack At Dawn 125 (5m By Maythehorsebewithu- Dancethruthedawn (Mr. Prospector) Parklands 1.3L behind winner
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4th $15.00 All For Dansilver 129 (4c By Dansilver- Camena (Snippets) FDL Lodge 4.6L behind winner
5th $16.00 Bellfast Cat 129 (4c By Bellbuster- Tabasco's Angel (Tabasco Cat) Hutton's Horse Haven 4.9L behind winner
6th $12.00 Scenic Sky 129 (4c By Hurricane Sky- Scenic Route (Scenic) Rainbow 7.4L behind winner
7th $12.00 Redskyatdawn 124 (4f By Dawn Patrol- Makybe Diva (Desert King) Smokey's Stables 9.75L behind winner
8th $5.50 Miss Bust 125 (5m By Bellbuster- Miss Bently (Euclase) Firstholme Racing 9.95L behind winner
9th $4.50 Patchers 130 (5h Affirmation- Innovation Girl (Rubiton) Pointgiven Stables 13L behind winner
1.08.66 TR 09/01/2010 firm track
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