Top 5 Manikato Stakes Winners

The Manikato Stakes (1200m) is one of the premier sprints of the Melbourne spring and has been won by some champion gallopers over the years. See who made our list of top 5 Manikato Stakes winners since 2000.

In modern times, the feature race has been taken out by some outstanding gallopers.

Top 5 Manikato Stakes winners.

1. SUNLINE (2000)

The bold front-runner, Sunline, loved Moonee Valley and had the racing style that was suited to the tight turning circuit. She is better known for her exploits in winning the Cox Plate (2040) at the track in 1999 and 2000 but won the Manikato Stakes first up as a five-year-old in the year 2000. Unlike the current day, the Manikato Stakes was held in mid-September and provided a platform for the mighty mare to launch her spring campaign.

2. CHAUTAUQUA (2015)

Chautauqua just misses out on top spot behind Sunline and what a race that would have been had they ever clashed. Chautauqua had a racing pattern that was the opposite of Sunline in that he would get back before flying late. The flashy grey did that in the 2015 Manikato, coming from the clouds, just like he did in his three TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) wins. The Hawkes galloper won six times at the highest level and those also include a victory in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) at Sha Tin at Hong Kong as well as a Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.

3. MISS ANDRETTI (2006)

One of the better sprinters that Australia has produced, Miss Andretti took out the Manikato Stakes as a short-priced favourite in 2006. She went on to record a famous victory at Royal Ascot and is the only Australian horse to have ever held five track records simultaneously. One of the best to come out of Perth, Miss Andretti was the 2007 Australian Horse of the Year and won five Group 1 races but the highlight of her career was arguably her performance in the Group 2 Kings Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in the UK in 2007, claiming that race ahead of Dandy Man.

4. HAY LIST (2010)

Hay List is best known for his association with Black Caviar, serving it up to the champ on a number of occasions without breaking through. In the absence of the champion galloper in the 2010 Manikato Stakes, Hay List scored a deserved Group 1 win, the first of three wins at the highest level. He was runner-up to Black Caviar on four occasions at the highest level and was a gun in his own right.

5. SPINNING HILL (2002/2003) and SPARK OF LIFE (2004/2005)

With apologies to Buffering (2013) it is hard to leave out the two-time winners from the early 2000’s in Spinning Hill and Spark Of Life. The late Guy Walter-trained Spinning Hill wooed fans with her exciting racing style that saw her get back before swooping home, getting the job done in 2002 and 2003. An underrated sprinter was the Allan Denham-trained Spark Of Life. The Sydney galloper scorched around the Moonee Valley circuit in 2004-2005 to pick up the Manikato Stakes on two occasions.

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