An irresistible turn of foot over the final 200m carried Manicure to the most important success of her career in G3 How Now Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday, 21 September, adding yet another Stakes win to the tally of her sire Exceed And Excel.
Having her first run at Caulfield and her first on a left-handed track, Manicure received a perfect ride from Rachel King, who was also having her first experience at the Melbourne track.
King gave the filly every opportunity to find her feet from her wide gate and the pair were poised to make their winning run soon after straightening. Manicure, already the winner of the Listed Nudgee Stakes in Brisbane during the summer, is one of Exceed And Excel’s 162 Stakes winners and took her sire to within sight of his 2000th win overall.
The filly is also closely related to the recent G1 Makybe Diva Stakes winner Gatting (Hard Spun) her dam Trim (Lonhro) being a sister to his dam Stubborn.
Exceed And Excel is standing the current southern hemisphere season at Kelvinside, NSW, at a fee of $88,000, including GST
