A guide to the Group One Manikato Stakes

THE MANIKATO STAKES – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

* Run at Moonee Valley as race seven on Friday, October 25, 9.30pm (AEDT)

* Group One, $1 million, 1200m, weight-for-age

HISTORY

* First held in September of 1968 as the Freeway Stakes, it was run over six furlongs and won by Winfreux

* Renamed in 1984 after dual winner Manikato, buried at Moonee Valley where he won five William Reid Stakes

* Moved in 2012 from September to the night before the Cox Plate

* Run on a tight turning, StrathAyr track (turf with sand base), 1805m circumference and 173m home straight

NOTABLE WINNERS

* Vain (1969), Century (1972) Manikato (1979, 82), Strawberry Road (1983) Rubiton (1987), Dane Ripper (1997), Sunline (2000), Miss Andretti (2006), Buffering (2013), Lankan Rupee (2014), Chautauqua (2015) and Brave Smash (2018)

TALKING POINTS

* Last year’s winner Brave Smash was coming out of The Everest 13 days earlier

* No Everest runners are backing up this year off a shorter six-day break

* Three three-year-olds in the race: Bivouac, Loving Gaby and Anaheed

* Bivouac ($1.85) is the clear favourable, beating Everest winner Yes Yes Yes in his last two starts

* Bivouac has a remarkably similar backstory to Sepoy, who won as a three-year-old runner for Goldophin in 2011 as a short-priced favourite from barrier one with Kerrin McEvoy on board

WHAT THE KEY PLAYERS ARE SAYING

* “I feel like he’s looking great. His training has been excellent. A little jump-out last week kept him ticking over and we’re ultimately quite pleased with where we are at going into the race” – Bivouac’s trainer James Cummings

* “He has been great in both runs so far this preparation and he’s been building towards the 1200m which is going to really suit him” – The Bostonian’s jockey Damian Lane

* “I wish Bivouac ran in The Everest. I just feel that if things go right for him from the barrier (8), he’ll be a hard rabbit to catch” – trainer David Hayes on Faatinah

* “The tempo of the Group One (sprint) should suit her and she seemed to handle The Valley well when she won first-up” – Loving Gaby’s co-trainer Ciaron Maher