Progressive gelding Anlon prevailed in a narrow photo finish to record his first win at Listed level in the Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) at Flemington this afternoon.
Anlon (outside) has held off Limes to win the Chester Manifold Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia
Anlon was fought to hold off a late charge from Darley gelding Limes and looked as though he had been pipped at the finishing post; with both jockey Stephen Arnold and trainer Darren Weir adamant that they thought Limes had won the race.
The photo showed that Anlon had held on to claim victory; a win which extended Weir’s lead over Peter Moody in the Victoria Metropolitan Trainers Premiership.
“I must say I thought the other horse kicked back and got him on the line,” Weir told TVN after the race.
“The horse has a bit of a wind issue; if you heard after track work you would wonder how he does it.
“He is a very tough horse and a lot of the credit must go to the work of the Warrnambool stables.
“Mark (O’Donnell) and all his team have done a terrific job with this horse.
“He is a hard working horse at home on the track, but down at Warrnambool he loves the beach and he relaxes.
“It obviously suits him and it has been a terrific preparation.”
The win was Anlon’s second straight victory, after winning the George Watson Handicap at Flemington on New Year’s Day, and he has now recorded two wins from three starts at the home of the Victorian Racing Club.
One of the highlights of the Chester Manifold Stakes was the performance of Chase The Rainbow, who flew home in the final stages of the race to finish a narrow fourth in just his second race start since returning to the races after more than a year on the sidelines due to injury.
Chase The Rainbow won the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old in 2011, but suffered a tendon injury after recording a dominant victory in the National Jockeys’ Celebration Day Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield on September 1.
A range of different injury problems kept the Dash For Cash entire away from the races and he failed to beat home a single runner when making his long-awaited return in the Listed Christmas Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Boxing Day.
