Manikato Stakes Special for Friday Night Group One

The Cox Plate Carnival kicks off with the Million Dollar Manikato Stakes on Friday night and a fearsome field will contest the Moonee Valley Sprint. The Group One weight for age event should be a cracking race and Ladbrokes have a cracking offer on it.

Manikato Stakes Special

If you back the Winner of the Manikato Stakes with Ladbrokes you’ll not only get the best Tote or Starting price, but you’ll also get an extra 20% on top of your winnings. Your first fixed odds win wager qualifies for Ladbrokes’ special, which will become available 40 minutes prior to the jump time of the race. The event is scheduled for 8.45pm AEDT.

CHAUTAUQUA Favourite in a Fantastic Field

More than half of the Manikato Stakes field are Group One winners. Even money favourite CHAUTAUQUA will be hoping to add another Group One to his name on Friday night. The Grey who likes to swoop drew an inside barrier draw however and is also missing usual jockey Dwayne Dunn. Tommy Berry will ride the Hawkes Racing-trained horse. TERRAVISTA ($5.50) boasts an elite level victory over CHAUTAUQUA and appears to be the main danger. He’s better suited to Flemington than the tighter Valley course but given a gun run the 6 year old Chestnut could finish first again.

SRIKANDI is chasing a hat-trick of Group One triumphs but will have to overcome a wide barrier, as she did to win the Tattersall’s Tiara over 1400 metres in June. The 5 year old is first up and currently around $6.50 to make it 3 straight. Don’t discount multiple group one winner BUFFERING. The 8 year old who’s earned well over 5 million dollars in winnings is around a $7.50 chance. The Robert Heathcote trained gelding’s last start was a Group One success in the Moir Stakes at the beginning of the month.  

The once almost formidable RICH ENUFF is around $26 with the colt seemingly unable to find the form of its previous campaign. FAST ‘N’ ROCKING is around the same price while the likes of REBEL DANE and ALPHA MISS are a few dollars into double digits, with TIGER TEES and GIRANTE the real roughies.