51 MOONEE VALLEY RACING CLUB 50 The year was 2012 and the date was the 23rd of June. Black Caviar and Luke Nolen waited patiently in the starting stalls, more than a kilometer away from 80,000 cheering fans on the final night of the Royal Ascot Carnival. Thousands of Australians too packed into Federation Square in the early hours of the morning to witness a sporting icon triumph on the world stage. The country held its breath. Black Caviar won the Diamond Jubilee, but the lowering of Luke Nolen’s hands in the latter stages of the race was enough to warrant the hearts of those watching to skip a beat. But, in the words of her top hat wearing trainer Peter Moody, it was “job done” in the proudest way possible. They didn’t realise at the time that she had torn muscles in the run, making the victory even more remarkable. Exactly four months later, inspired by the night ‘Nelly’ made history, the Moonee Valley Racing Club held its first two-day Cox Plate Carnival and the Group 1 Manikato Stakes was on the Friday night, under lights for the first time. Sea Siren beat Mental in a thriller, and the form was franked just 14 days later when they would again quinella the Darley Classic – this time the result flipped. In short, the night was a raging success, and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival as we now know it was officially reborn. Black Caviar came to The Valley the following Autumn and bolted in with the William Reid Stakes in front of a sellout crowd. In doing so, she joined Kingston Town as a 14-time Group 1 winner, and night racing at the topflight was here to stay. Buffering won the Manikato in 2013, Lankan Rupee followed in 2014, and Chautauqua came thereafter in 2015, a finish we will never cease to forget. Each a champion in their own right, yet all so different in the way they went about their racing. They joined a long list of superstars that filled the honour roll before them. Vain won in 1969, Manikato himself won in 1979 and 1982 and Strawberry Road became the first horse in history to complete the double in 1983, going on to win the Cox Plate later that year. The Doug Bougoure trained gelding won the race in its final year of being called the Freeway Stakes, before it was renamed in honour of the Million Dollar Man – five-time William Reid Stakes winner Manikato. In 2022 the Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes is the richest race in Austalian run under lights. Prizemoney for the Group 1 feature doubled from $1 million to $2 million this season, standing it alone at the top of the night racing calendar. The night itself is the perfect prequel to one of the world’s greatest Weight For Age races, and the 24 hours of unmissable action is a weekend penciled early into the calendar of the racing purist. This year the Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes promises to be one of the most competitive editions we have seen. Twice a feature runner-up at The Valley including last year’s edition, can Bella Nipotina get a well-deserved Group 1 on her CV? Will Rothfire give Robert Heathcote another great Valley memory some nine years after Buffering won the race, or will team Godolphin win their first Maniakto with Paulele, the night before they aim up to win their first Cox Plate with Anamoe? All roads lead to The Valley on October 21, and the colosseum of legends will be rocking as we welcome crowds back to the grandstands for the first time in two years. FRIDAY 21 OCTOBER 2022 Spring Racing Under Lights LADBROKES MANIKATO STAKES NIGHT THE LADBROKES MANIKATO STAKES - RICHEST RACE Under Lights By Ben Caluzzi - Media & Content Executive – Racing
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