The Manikato Stakes 2011 winner is Sepoy
It was far from a wire to wire win though after he slightly missed the jump and found himself back towards the tail of the field.
Jockey Kerrin McEvoy worked quickly to move up along the inside rail to hold his position and they locked into a battle with Buffering.
Neither wanted to relent before Buffering was finally eased up to settle on the outside with both horses having put in a mountain of work.
From there though it was sheer dominance from Sepoy as he pulled clear at the top of the straight and only lengthened the margin as they hit the line.
Stable rep Paul Snowden said it was exciting to see but far from surprising.
“We love to talk him up as much as we can but we’ve just got to let him do the talking, what else can we say,” he said.
“Just biting our tongue all week, everyone was pumping their horse up but we knew how good our horse was and we knew where we had him.”
He says the wet track was never a serious concern despite that being the site of the horses only loss to date.
“He only got beaten half a length on the rain affected track and he was a bit under done,” he said.
His sentiments were shared by his father and head Darley trainer Peter who was left almost in awe at the way he claimed victory tonight.
“He’s a great horse and I’m very lucky to have him,” he said.
“He had to do it the hard way and he showed just how good he is.”
For those thinking this might entice them into a battle with Black Caviar in the Patinack Farm Classic don’t get too excited, the Coolmore remains the end of prep aim.
“For me the reason I’ve always said Coolmore is because that’s his own age,” he said.
“For me that’d be the icing, not beating Black Caviar.”
Manikato Stakes 2011 Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Weight | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 8 | SEPOY(1) | Kerrin McEvoy | Peter Snowden | 52.0 | 1-11.08 |
| 2nd | 5 | SISTER MADLY(5) | Craig Williams | John Sadler | 56.5 | 2.3L |
| 3rd | 4 | MORE JOYOUS(4) | Nash Rawiller | Gai Waterhouse | 56.5 | 5.3L |
| 4th | 2 | BUFFERING(3) | Damian Browne | Robert Heathcote | 58.5 | 5.4L |
| 5th | 6 | RUE MAPLE(6) | Michelle Payne | Darren Weir | 56.5 | 7.4L |
| 6th | 3 | ATOMIC FORCE(7) | Damien Oliver | Darren Smith | 58.5 | 7.5L |
| 7th | 1 | HAPPY ZERO(2) | Darren Beadman | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | 58.5 | 8.5L |
| 8th | 7 | KULGRINDA(8) | Luke Nolen | Peter G Moody | 56.5 | 9.7L |
