After notching up training win 500 with Against The Bridle on Saturday night at Cranbourne, Ross Graham is looking to go back-to-back in the O’Sullivan’s Transport Elmore Pacing Cup at Bendigo with Major Manbar.
Graham took the reins with Against The Bridle for his milestone moment and the victory was not one to go unnoticed. The young trotter did everything right, racing away from his rivals to win his maiden by a whopping 71.6 metres.
“What a way to bring up 500,” Graham said. “I may have won trials by that margin… never a race. Probably the greatest distance I reckon would be 15 metres prior to that.”
Against The Bridle is by Used To Me out of Sister of Sonoko, making him a half-brother to Graham’s star trotter Nephew of Sonoko.
The 50-year-old Sutton Grange horseman now looks forward to Major Manbar, who will have career start 100 in the $10,000 feature on Thursday night.
“He just had a lighter month, he didn’t have any time off,” Graham said of the seven-year-old gelding, who last raced on October 12.
“He had a trial at Bendigo Monday week, he trialled quite good. He was probably in against lesser-grade horses.”
Although very talented, Major Manbar is best suited to racing in front as he can get quite fierce. Unfortunately for connections – which include Collingwood premiership heroes Jeremy Howe and Steele Sidebottom – he comes out of barrier 11 on Thursday night.
“He over-races, that’s his biggest problem. He isn’t going to find the front on Thursday night, but when he does, that’s when he is at his best,” Graham said.
“It’s always hard coming from behind because it’s tempo related. He will put in a pretty good performance.”
James Herbertson takes the reins of Major Manbar this week, with the state’s leading reinsman also looking to go back-to-back after partnering the horse to victory in the Cup last year.
“He’s been a very good horse to us,” Graham stated. “He will continue to go around in the metro races providing he is well.”
The Elmore Pacing Cup was first run in 1987 when won by Arvassin with Mark Hayes in the sulky. Since then, the honour roll features recent winners Rick Reilly, Fourstarzzzspecial and Dot The Eye. If Major Manbar is successful, he will be the first horse to win this race twice.
The Community Bank Elmore, Lockington and Rochester Trotters Cup is also a feature on Thursday night.
This is the third time this race has been run, with Kerryn Manning winning aboard Blue Coman for Greg Norman last year and Anthony Crossland scoring with Rules Dont Apply in 2021.
Aldebaran Demi, Sangreal and Star Down Under look to be among the leading chances in Thursday night’s edition, with Herbertson partnering Bitta Irish Luck.
