Manikato Stakes Postponed, Will Be Run On Cox Plate Day

The champion mare - owned by Te Akau Racing and trained by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata - opened as a very short $1.45 favourite on the New Zealand TAB to win the group one Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley. To be ridden by champion Kiwi jockey Opie Bosson from barrier four, Imperatriz will chase her 16th win of a 22-start…

The 2023 edition of the Group 1 Manikato Stakes will be held on Saturday 28th October at Moonee Valley, with some of the most exciting sprinters in the country set to compete. Previously run on Friday nights, the $2 million weight-for-age feature event will be part of a blockbuster day at the track, with the time-honoured Group 1 Cox Plate set to…

Romantic Warrior is popular with punters to win the Cox Plate. Picture: Vince Caligiuri - Getty Images A swag of Cox Plate contenders are slated to gallop at The Valley on Tuesday morning, rounding out their preparations for the $5m race. The traditional Breakfast With The Best gallops, which kick off at 6.30am, will feature key Cox…

Doull has won the sprint, race six today, just edging out Spacewalk at the line. Today's racing will be delayed by 30 minutes should lightning strike near Caulfield during the race meeting. It was nearly a year ago when the Friday night Manikato Stakes meeting at Moonee Valley was abandoned when a thunderstorm hit Moonee Ponds. The stewards tried a…

The 2023 edition of the Group 1 Cox Plate will be held on Saturday 28th October at Moonee Valley. The race will headline a blockbuster weekend at the track, with the Group 1 Manikato Stakes headlining Friday night's meeting. Last year saw retired superstar Anamoe take out the race as a short-priced favourite. Here's everything you need to know…

Racing Victoria (RV) confirmed on Wednesday morning the primary structure of the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival program, announcing some key enhancements for 2023. Several Group 1 races will have new dates in 2023, most notably the shift of the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m). Held traditionally on the Friday night before the Cox Plate, the Group…

Racing Victoria has not ruled out moving the Cox Plate in the future, after deciding to leave the feature race in its traditional time slot for this year's spring carnival. Racing Victoria, led by new chief executive Andrew Jones, had been exploring the idea of moving the time-honoured race to late November, in an attempt to take advantage of clean…

The Thousand Guineas will move back a month but the Cox Plate will retain its current position in the spring carnival - for now. Racing Victoria has confirmed the Cox Plate would retain its place on the Saturday after the Caulfield Cup after weeks of conjecture and a push from the governing body to shift The Valley's showpiece race back four weeks…

The Cox Plate will retain its place on the calendar. The Thousand Guineas will move back a month but the Cox Plate will retain its current position in the spring carnival - for now. Racing Victoria has confirmed the Cox Plate would retain its place on the Saturday after the Caulfield Cup after weeks of conjecture and a push from the governing body…

Glen Boss winning the 2005 Cox Plate on champion Makybe Diva. Racing Victoria is set to break with 100 years of tradition and move the Cox Plate with the showpiece now slated to be run two weeks after the Melbourne Cup Carnival. The Herald Sun understands the radical shift would see Australia's best race become a spring carnival grand final for the…

Group 1 trainer Wayne Hawkes says the reconfigured Victorian Festival of Racing summer/autumn fixture, with prizemoney increases for the Blue Diamond and Australian Cup, could only be successful. The $500000 Moomba Plate for three-year-old sprinters, placed neatly between the $1.5m Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington and $1m Arrowfield Sprint…

Group 1 Manikato delayed until Saturday after lightning causes havoc at Moonee Valley The trainers of all 14 Manikato Stakes runners have agreed to run the race after the last at Saturday's Cox Plate meeting after the final three races on Friday night were abandoned due to lightning. Every effort was made to run the race safely on Friday night,…

A WILD electric storm on Friday forced Racing Victoria (RV) stewards to abandon the Group 1 Manikato Stakes meeting after five races with the Group 1 contest now to be run as race 11 on Cox Plate day. After an hour delay and promising signs of a restart, with race 6 struck off to accommodate the Manikato at the rescheduled time of 9.45pm, a…

Godolphin might be left with only one option for its still-vacant Everest slot after Paulele picked up an eye injury during his gutsy Schillaci Stakes win in Melbourne on Saturday. While Kementari is believed to be the preferred option for Godolphin due to his soft-track form, Paulele gave Godolphin boss Vin Cox and trainer James Cummings plenty to…

The Group 2 McEwen Stakes winner Rothfire is good to go for the Group 1 Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday night. "The horse has gone super," confirmed trainer Robert Heathcote. "I had planned to take him to The Valley on Monday, but it was a very heavy track … so I didn't. "I galloped him this morning at Flemington. Damien Lane rode him and…

It will be a different scene this year at the Cox Plate, with champion mare Winx now retired after an illustrious career that saw her win the race four consecutive times. The 2019 edition of the Group 1 Cox Plate will be held on the final weekend of October at Moonee Valley on a fantastic weekend of racing, that also includes the Manikato Stakes on…

It will be a different scene this year at the Cox Plate, with the COVID-19 pandemic still heavily affecting Victoria and crowds unlikely to be able to attend the big race. The 2020 edition of the Group 1 Cox Plate will be held on Saturday 24th October at Moonee Valley, capping off a big weekend that also includes the Group 1 Manikato Stakes on the…

It kicks off a huge weekend of racing at The Valley and the Manikato Stakes has drawn another open field of sprinters! Paulele couldn't have been more impressive on his way to winning the Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield a fortnight ago, and he has opened a fitting favourite in Manikato Stakes betting, but there is a case to be made for many of them,…

New Zealand trainer Mark Walker says it is a juggling act to have star mare Imperatriz fresh enough for her first Group 1 assignment of the spring. Imperatriz heads to Moonee Valley on Friday night to run in the Moir Stakes (1000m), in a bid at keeping her record intact at The Valley. Last season, the mare took out the Group 1 William Reid Stakes…