Star sprinter Bivouac bids to beat elders in Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes

11.30 Moonee Valley, Friday
Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes | Group 1 | 6f | 3yo+

Godolphin’s star sprinter Bivouac has defeated subsequent The Everest hero Yes Yes Yes on his last two starts and tackles his elders for the first time in the feature A$1m (£530,000/€620,000) Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday.

The James Cummings-trained three-year-old, drawn in stall one, landed a first top-level prize when denying Yes Yes Yes by a head in the De Bortoli Wines-sponsored Golden Rose at Rosehill last month.

Kerrin McEvoy’s mount will bid to emulate a former star for Sheikh Mohammed in Sepoy, who made all from the inside draw in this race eight years ago.

Cummings said: “Bivouac should handle the track but has to test his mettle against older horses and any rain would be in his favour.

“The inside draw can be good or bad but he’s got wonderful gate speed, so hopefully he can do what Sepoy did. Loving Gaby looks the main danger, so they may well fight it out from stalls one and two.”

Ciaron Maher: 'Loving Gaby worked nicely at the track on Tuesday.'Credit: Vince Caligiuri / Getty

The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Loving Gaby twice finished second in Group 1 company at two and has continued her progressive profile this spring.

Loving Gaby is drawn next to Bivouac in stall two and won the Piper-Heidsieck Scarborough Stakes over course and distance last month before finishing second in the Thoroughbred Club Stakes at Caulfield.

Maher said of the Phoenix Thoroughbred-owned filly: “Loving Gaby prefers a bit of space, so it might not be as good a draw as it seems but we’ll see.

“We tried her over a mile at two but she seems a lot sharper now. She worked nicely at the track on Tuesday and has run well at Moonee Valley before.”

Last season’s dual Group 1 winner The Bostonian, Theo Marks Stakes second Trope, close A J Moir Stakes fourth Faatinah and recent Blue Sapphire Stakes scorer Anaheed are other contenders, although the widest draw in stall 11 is a negative for the last-named sprinter.

Read exclusive previews from 6pm daily on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app