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Chris Waller‘s triple Group 1 winning mare Lady Shenandoah is the short-priced favourite looking to return to winning form on Friday night under the lights at Moonee Valley in the Group 1 $2 million Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m).
The second of the spring’s elite level sprints following on from the Moir, the 2025 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes is named after dual winner of the race, Manikato, who also won five straight editions of the William Reid Stakes at the same track from 1979 – 1983.
It has been won by many top-line sprinters including Lankan Rupee (2014), Sepoy (2011), Hay List (2010), Miss Andretti, Sunline (2000m), and Dane Ripper (1998), and has drawn another typically exciting field this season.
Snitzel four-year-old, Lady Shenandoah, was huge as a three-year-old last prep winning five straight races including beating home the older mares in the Coolmore Classic over the autumn.
Fresh in her four-year-old debut the confirmed $20 million The Everest contender, who will race for Fairway Thoroughbreds in the world’s richest turf race on October 18 at Randwick, she was narrowly denied when beaten a nose by Headwall in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m).
She presents fitter for the run, looks set to relish the step-up in distance being proven up to a mile and is the short fancy in Manikato Stakes betting at $2.40 through race sponsor Ladbrokes.com.au.
Friday sees her head south racing outside of Sydney for the first time, so how she handles the Melbourne way of racing and the tight The Valley circuit will be key to her chances of saluting for the punters to become the first favourite to win since Imperatriz ($1.40 in 2023).
Waller has prepared just the one Manikato Stakes winner to date with Danleigh back in 2009 and Lady Shenandoah, drawn the outside barrier (10 of 10) with James McDonald to ride, is his sole acceptor this season.
Mares have won two of the past three editions of the event with Bella Nipotina (2022) and Imperatriz (2023), while Ciaron Maher trained last year’s champion Southport Tycoon.
The danger occupying the second line of betting at $4.60 on Friday night is Moonee Valley specialist Baraqiel.
A seven-year-old son of Snitzel, Baraqiel races for Leon & Troy Corstens & Will Larken and the consistent sprinter boasts a flawless four-from-four record at The Valley.
At this track and trip last spring he put nearly three lengths on his closest rival in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes, and he comes off back-to-back wins this time in ready to get back out to his pet distance (Manikato Stakes).
He resumed in the Listed Norman Carlyon Stakes winning with ease in lower grade before stepping up for the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) on September 6 where he put a half-length on Alabama Lass.
Baraqiel is drawn barrier seven, which hasn’t produced a Manikato winner going back to at least 2000, with Ben Allen continuing associations.
Class Kiwi mare Imperatriz (2023) completed the Moir Stakes – Manikato Stakes double two years ago, and Baraqiel has the credentials to repeat the feat this weekend.
Another of the Group 1 winners in the mix looking to improve on her first-up run is the Mitchell Freedman trained Skybird ($7.50).
The Exosphere five-year-old won the Black Caviar Lightning in the autumn in a notable upset at 40/1.
She also resumed in the Moir Stakes when finishing a mid-field sixth under three lengths off Baraqiel having been caught for room and unable to get out in the clear to make her presence felt.
“We were all dressed up with nowhere to go unfortunately,” Skybird’s jockey John Allen said after the run.
“She felt like she had plenty to give but we never got any room in the home straight.”
Skybrid has John Allen aboard from gate six.
Magic Time comes into the Manikato Stakes field off a lead-up win with Grahame Begg‘s six-year-old Hellbent mare beating Miss Roumbini in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield.
An early market mover, she is into Manikato Stakes odds of $7 with Michael Dee set to get a dream run from barrier one which has produced four winners from 2009 – 2024 most recently Bella Nipotina (2022).
That form was franked when the runner-up ran out of her skin for second to Sepals in last Saturday’s Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, which bodes well for Magic Time as she too rises in grade second-up on Friday.
In a tight market the other single figure hope is the consistent Ken & Bev Kelso trained Alabama Lass ($7.50) jumping from barrier five with Craig Williams who chases his third win in seven years.
A well performed Kiwi raider from across the Tasman, the four-year-old daughter of Alabama Express has been strong in her two recent Melbourne assignments when winning a Black-Type at Flemington at late March before her huge run for second in the Moir only a half-length beaten.
The 2025 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes is set to run as Moonee Valley Race 7 at 9:15pm (AEST) as the penultimate event on Friday night’s card.
| 7. Charm Stone (2) J: Blake Shinn56.5kg 2x10xT: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr | ||
| 2. Baraqiel (7) J: Ben Allen58.5kg 63x11T: L & T Corstens & W Larkin | ||
| 5. Magic Time (1) J: Michael Dee56.5kg 367x1T: Grahame Begg | ||
| 6. Lady Shenandoah (10) J: James McDonald56.5kg 111x2T: Chris Waller | ||
| 10. Ameena (4) J: Mark Zahra56.5kg x24x5T: Anthony & Sam Freedman | ||
| 3. Payline (9) J: Justin Huxtable58.5kg 398x5T: Chris & Corey Munce | ||
| 1. Rothfire (8) J: Nash Rawiller58.5kg 427x9T: Robert Heathcote | ||
| 4. Sir Sway (3) J: Lachlan Neindorf58.5kg 822x0T: Sue & Jason Jaensch | ||
| 8. Skybird (6) J: John Allen56.5kg 0x1x6T: Mitchell Freedman | ||
| 9. Alabama Lass (5) J: Craig Williams56.5kg 211x2T: Ken & Bev Kelso |
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