October
JuneDun good
I’m glad your readers aren’t on the panel that votes on Australia’s Horse of the Year awards — not that the actual panel has covered itself in glory over the years.
One thing Winning Post readers and Horse of the Year voters appear to have in common is an attention span of about five minutes, judging by the poll result that saw Manighar favoured as champion stayer by 57.8 percent to Dunaden’s 20.2 percent.
Year after year, deeds performed in the latter part of the season are over-rewarded, while the feats (and failures) of the spring are forgotten.
The staying championship, as was stated in the poll question, is based on races of 2200 metres and up. Manighar won one of these — The BMW (2400m). And a good win it was too, beating a high-class stayer in Americain.
In Manighar’s other runs in the distance range, he finished fourth to Southern Speed in the Caulfield Cup (giving the winner 4kg), fifth to Dunaden in the Melbourne Cup (receiving half a kilo from the winner), and second to Americain at level weights in the Group 2 Zipping Classic.
Dunaden meanwhile gave Manighar a sound thrashing in the Melbourne Cup (2.7 lengths and half a kilo) and in his only other Australian run scored a comfortable win with 58kg in the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m).
As mentioned, Manighar’s BMW win was impressive, but Dunaden’s win in the Hong Kong Vase over the same distance, and more importantly his demolition of Manighar in the Melbourne Cup, suggests he would have won that race easily if he’d been set for it.
Some may feel Americain should be a contender given that he gave the winner 3.5kg when a 1.45-length fourth in the Melbourne Cup, won the Moonee Valley Cup and won the Zipping Classic.
However, he failed to win a Group 1 race during the season and was well beaten by Manighar, albeit perhaps unluckily, in The BMW, a championship staying race at weight-for-age.
To me, these facts make Dunaden the winner by a clear margin, with Manighar and Americain battling out the minor placings.
Cremorne (Vic)