The Quarterback will head to both the Manikato Stakes and the Darley Classic after he returned to the races with an impressive victory in the Gilgai Stakes at Flemington this morning.

The Quarterback was able to sit just behind the speed due to the slow pace set in the early stages of the Gilgai Stakes and it played right into his hands as his turn-of-foot was superior to his rivals in the final 300 metres.

Trainer Robbie Griffiths was thrilled to see The Quarterback win the Gilgai Stakes, but he is confident that the son of Street Boss will only improve as he heads to Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on October 21 and the Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m) on November 5.

“We were confident that he was going better this prep, but we wanted to keep a lid on it because a lot of these horses had race fitness on their side,” Griffiths said.

“As long as he ran top three we were going to be happy and if he did win we knew we had room for improvement.

“It is a nice way to kick off the prep going into two more Group 1s.

“He will go into the Manikato and then the Darley Classic.

“We always had a three run program kicking off here into the Manikato, which is he a little vulnerable at that style around the Valley.

“We think that he will have his peak run here in the Darley Classic.”

Regular hoop Matthew Allen has an outstanding record on The Quarterback and he also believes that his favourite galloper is in for a big 2016 Spring Racing Carnival campaign.

“He is a legend,” Allen said.

“I have won seven races on him now and he has never felt any better.

“His trials have been enormous and today I actually jumped with the field.

“They didn’t go that quick, I was only three lengths off the leader and when we got to the 400 I thought that there was no way they were going to beat him today.

“When I asked him to go he just exploded.

“No many horses can go with him when you ask him to go and when I was sitting that close I was just full of confidence.

“He is in for a massive prep.”

You can back The Quarterback in both the Manikato Stakes and the Darley Classic with leading online bookmaker Ladbrokes.com.au!