Moonee Valley Racing Club set for heavyweight showdowns in new Grand Final Eve card

Another instalment in Australian racing’s current leading rivalry and a crack Manikato Stakes field are by-products of the Moonee Valley Racing Club’s bold move to revamp its spring program.

A strong field in the $2m Manikato Stakes and the clash of two Victorian-trained titans will serve to validate the Moonee Valley Racing Club’s revamped spring program.

Friday night’s Grand Final Eve card will feature the Group 1 Manikato Stakes and Group 2 Feehan Stakes, which were moved from other MVRC spring fixtures.

The Feehan Stakes, which offers a Cox Plate ballot exemption to the winner, is in 2024 being run four weeks later while the Manikato Stakes has been brought forward from the Cox Plate Eve card in October.

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The newly-placed Feehan Stakes is likely to produce another showdown between weight-for-age heavyweights Pride Of Jenni and Mr Brightside.

The Feehan Stakes now sits a month before the Cox Plate, giving connections a chance to fit in another run before the weight-for-age championship.

Trainer Ciaron Maher eyed the Feehan Stakes as the perfect opportunity to give Pride Of Jenni another run before her first spring goal, the $5m King Charles III Stakes at Randwick on October 19.

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MVRC racing boss Charlotte Mills said the strength of Friday night’s fields indicated the club made the right move in adjusting its spring fixtures, which will in turn boost wagering.

“I think we’ll also have a solid field in the Feehan, which will reflect the correct placement of both races,” Mills said.

“We’d like to think there will be an increase in wagering.

“The lead-in for both those running in the Manikato and the Feehan, it’s right.

“Bringing the Manikato forward and pushing the Feehan back, it’s landed the right program.”

Exciting colt Growing Empire is one of 13 acceptors for Friday night’s Group 1 Manikato Stakes at The Valley. Picture: Racing Photos

Mills said the changes were also part of a bigger picture that reflected changing attitudes from trainers and racing administrators.

She said the Manikato was now the perfect lead-up race to The Everest while the Feehan also fit perfectly into Sydney programs, which would only help the spring.

“I think the strength of the fields represents something that is logic versus consideration now,” Mills said.

“In terms of when the trainers are talking about it, it’s logical that the program fits when they think about their options.

“There is a national approach to it now.

“When you can see a calendar working in both states, it brings together an innate understanding.”

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As part of the changes, the Group 1 Moir Stakes moved to September 7.

Mills said the MVRC had started analysing the wagering figures from the Moir Stakes meeting, which took a hit with technical issues significantly affecting TAB betting on the day.

“It was inherently disappointing because the uplift was reflected in the other WSPs but we got really slammed with the TAB having problems,” Mills said.

Originally published as Moonee Valley Racing Club set for heavyweight showdowns in new Grand Final Eve card