The 2017 Manikato Stakes shapes up as one of the races of the spring as a host of Everest combatants lock horns again for Group 1 glory.
The former Perth galloper Vega Magic has been all the rage in betting in the lead up to the race, crunched $2.60-$2.10 to record his third win at the top level. The five-year-old gelding has been in devastating form since joining the Lindsay Park operation with emphatic wins in both the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap and the Group 1 Memsie Stakes.
Palmerbet CEO Grant Palmer is firmly with the Hayes runner.
“He was forced to go back from his wide draw in The Everest after jumping well, before rattling home against the pattern of the day,” he explained.
“With his great ability to race up on the pace, he should be able to assume control from barrier 3 and be terribly hard to beat, clearly on top for us.”
Standing in his way though is the champion sprinter Chautauqua, an $8 chance in tonight’s main event. A six-time Group 1 winner including the last three editions of the TJ Smith Stakes, the ‘grey flash’ lines up after a similarly unlucky run in The Everest.
In Her Time, who continues to raise the bar at every start, is being kept very safe in the market at $6. She beat a number of key rivals resuming in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes and was unlucky not to gain an Everest slot. Subsequently taking out the Sydney Stakes, this is a mare in form on a rapidly upward spiral.
Throw in a number of other winners at the highest level including the Gai Waterhouse trained English ($13) and Peter Gelagotis trained Malaguerra ($17) and you’ve got a mouth-watering clash on the eve of our weight for age championship.
Listen to @Tim_Tips Racing Preview with the Before You Bet Podcast!
In Episode 6 of the Before You Bet Podcast our horse racing specialist @Tim_Tips chats about the weekend's action at Randwick and Moonee Valley and previews and offers tips from all the biggest Australian horse races for this Friday and Saturday! Listen to the podcast on the media player below, or you can find the Before You Bet podcast on iTunes!
