Manikato’s hooves were hardly touching the ground as he sped to the line, defeating that season’s best two-year-old’s.
Gary Willetts took his time pulling up the winner. He absorbed the moment, which was one of his biggest wins since moving from New Zealand. A round of applause greeted the pair as they returned to the enclosure for Willetts to dismount. Waiting there was an excited Leeanne Smith and Bon Hoysted, who was wearing the straight-faced façade built over 37 years as a trainer.
Willetts was jubilant as he removed the saddle from Manikato’s back.
‘I was always confident. From the first time I rode him I knew he was a top horse.’3
Leeanne led the youngster around the enclosure, pausing briefly for some photos and then watching the initial part of the official presentation, before finally being allowed to take him for a hose to cool off. The euphoria was over and now it was just Leeanne and her unsaddled chestnut. At that moment, to the casual observer it could have been any horse. Quietly, Leeanne took Manikato from the horse wash back to his tie-up stall where nobody was waiting. Manikato’s owner and trainer were being looked after by the Victorian Amateur Turf Club and punters were pre-occupied with the next race. Leeanne scraped the Blue Diamond winner to remove any excess water from his coat, applied a towel, gave him a drink and then turned an empty bucket over to use as a seat. She sat down and cried.
‘There was a big build-up to the day and then the thrill of being involved in the race and the “Wow!” moment where he actually won it. I was extremely proud of Kato and I finally had a few minutes where it was me and my horse, and all I did was cry.’
As Leeanne absorbed those overwhelming moments, the official presentation and photographs had concluded. Bon Hoysted, Mal Seccull and Gary Willetts had a bevy of pressmen waiting for them. All were surprised when Hoysted was asked if there was another target for Manikato.
‘Probably the Sires’ Produce at Flemington in a couple of weeks, if he pulls up well,’ stated Hoysted.
‘What about the Golden Slipper?’ quizzed a member of the press gallery.
The Golden Slipper Stakes is Australia’s richest race for two-year-old horses and is run at Rosehill in Sydney over 1200 metres—the same distance as the Blue Diamond. In 1978, it was worth $150,000, and run just two weeks after the Blue Diamond. It seemed good timing for a horse attempting to run in both.
Hoysted explained that the pre-race hype and fanfare concerned him, as well as the necessary travelling and the need to race in the opposite direction to Melbourne. It was a legitimate claim, and it emphasised that Hoysted was prepared to put the needs of his horse above any prestige or prize money on offer. It did raise eyebrows though. Manikato was anything but agitated throughout Blue Diamond Day. Plus it seemed the quality of Sydney two-year-old’s was below that of Melbourne’s—that is, if one believed what was written in the media.
The lure of the Golden Slipper was too much for some to simply let go of. A celebratory dinner was hastily organised for the Manikato team and Gary Willetts was quick to plant a seed in Hoysted’s mind while at dinner.
‘[Manikato] can only run in the race once, Bon, and it might be your only chance to win a race like the Golden Slipper, too,’ pleaded Willetts.
Hoysted took it in but preferred to enjoy the night for what had been achieved rather than argue about things that lay ahead. Much had been accomplished already. It was almost twelve months to the day since the disproportionate colt sweltered around a tiny concrete sales ring, selling for a modest figure. He was now regarded as the best two-year-old in Australia.
5
Bon's Champion
There were a few sore heads around the stables the following day. Fortunately, being Sunday, it was beach swimming day for most of the horses, including Manikato. While this was occurring, Bon Hoysted got on the phone. He wanted to get Mal Seccull’s opinion about running in the Golden Slipper Stakes. Seccull told Hoysted that he’d been thinking about it and would attend the stables in person that afternoon to discuss it further.
Seccull didn’t believe it appropriate if a horse trainer told him how to run his property business and therefore, he wasn’t one for interfering in horse training—even if it were one of his own. However, his opinion sought, Seccull sided with Willetts.
‘Bon, we may never have another horse like Manikato good enough to win the Slipper,’ Seccull said. ‘If we don’t go up and give him the chance we would probably regret it for the rest of our lives.’ The conversation wasn’t about lining up and hoping for the best. Hoysted had a runner in the Golden Slipper the previous year—King Of The Stars—who had finished twelfth in a race where the best was hoped for. This discussion was about winning.
Hoysted’s pondering continued into the next day. He picked up a newspaper and within its contents was an early Golden Slipper market. Manikato was 3/1 favourite. Before the Blue Diamond, Hoysted’s biggest win was the 1966 Doomben 10,000 with Pterylaw. That race was worth substantially less than $150,000. The words of Gary Willetts and Mal Seccull reverberated in Hoysted’s mind. Perhaps this would be his only hope of winning a race like this.
Still, it wasn’t a matter of simply changing one’s mind. Manikato needed to have come through his biggest challenge to date in fine order. The youngster had returned from his swim in the bay and bounced into the sand roll for the afternoon. There was not a scratch on him and his temperature was normal.
Another unknown for Hoysted was how Manikato would handle racing clockwise. All his gallops had either been anti-clockwise or down the Flemington straight. What a waste of time it would be if the chestnut lined up in Australia’s biggest two-year-old race only to run off the track on Rosehill’s home turn.
The fact that Hoysted was now considering calling Epsom’s track manager meant that the temptation of heading to the Harbour City was getting the better of him. Hoysted needed permission and assistance to organise an unofficial trial at Epsom for Manikato.
Then there was the prize money gamble. The VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Flemington was worth $50,000 plus trophies—just a third of the Golden Slipper. However, it was still significant money and the race seemed to be at the mercy of Manikato, who would likely run an odds-on favourite if he took his place. The wrong decision could cost thousands.
Monday had turned to Tuesday, and then Wednesday. By Thursday, the racing media were constantly calling to clarify whether Manikato would run in Melbourne or Sydney the following week. The deadline for a decision was looming. Manikato had a leisurely week on the training track; no amount of trackwork was going to get him fitter. His slow work had alternated between clockwise and anti-clockwise, which kept everyone guessing.
It took until the following week for it to be finalised. On Tuesday 7 March, the unofficial trial on Epsom’s course proper was convened. The trainers’ balcony at the facility was filled with track clockers, a handful of newspaper reporters, other curious trainers, plus Bon Hoysted. It was all about one horse, but two horses emerged onto the track. The first was Egobud, a handy Welter-horse, followed by the large liver-chestnut frame of Manikato.1 Egobud, also trained by Hoysted, was purely there for companionship and to provide some sort of simulated race pressure. Starting stalls were used and the distance was 800 metres.
From the moment the barriers opened, Egobud was behind. Manikato whizzed straight to the lead with Willetts maintaining a tight grip on the reins. Egobud got close with Manikato under such restraint and the pair came to the end of the work, covering the gallop in 49.5 seconds. Manikato finished narrowly ahead but travelled well within himself. It looked good, with Manikato making the sharp right-hand turn smoothly. But Hoysted was keen to get down from the balcony to chat with Gary Willetts. Hoysted was first back to the spot where Manikato would be unsaddled and in the distance, he could see the current Golden Slipper favourite walking towards him, accompanied by some humming. As the party met, it was clear that the humming emanated from Willetts with a well-rehearsed rendition of James Bland’s ‘O, Dem Golden Slippers’. Willetts couldn’t stop laughing as he dismounted and Hoysted didn’t have to say anything; he knew the answer to the question he most wanted