MANZELMANN LANDS ANOTHER CUP BOILOVER

By Graham Potter | Sunday, August 27, 2023

Feature race doubles don’t come much better than the feat achieved by trainer John Manzelmann who added the Cairns Cup to his 2023 honour roll to go along with the Mackay Cup win he claimed in July.

It wasn’t just the win ... it was the way Savvy Legend (the Mackay Cup winner) and The Driller (the Cairns Cup winner) powered home in pressurised finishes to upstage their more fancied opposition in spectacular fashion ... their tenacity and grit highlighting Manzelmann’s spot-on presentation of these two runners which had them primed for the contest and fully in for the fight when it mattered most.

They say a horse doesn’t know what price it starts at so Savvy Legend and The Driller wouldn’t have been insulted at the fact that they were allowed to jump at a starting price of $61 and $51 on their way to cup glory. It was a boilover fest for bookmakers.

Nobody can dispute that John Manzelmann deserves his success. His contribution to the game in North Queensland ... particularly in terms of numbers supplied ... is as recognisable as the distinctive, highly recognisable dark blue with a light blue star racing silks that are carried by most of his horses.

“I thought The Driller was an each-way chance ... or a decent place chance, let’s put it that way,” said Manzelmann. “I didn’t think we could win the race. I thought the favourite (Namazu) would be far too good.”

A $2.10 favourite, Namazu would ultimately only manage fourth place, albeit only 1.50 lengths behind the winner. Manzelmann had also lowered the colours of Namazu, then an even more restrictive priced $1.70 favourite, in the Mackay Cup.

Manzelmann had handed The Driller's reins to jockey Adam Sewell for the big race ... and it was a combination of Sewell’s early patience and then measured aggression in helping The Driller sustain a long run home when called upon, as the widest runner on the track, which helped set up the $51 chance’s victory.

“We definitely thought we wanted to come wide down the straight, but I didn’t really give Adam any instructions,” said Manzelmann. “I let him work it out for himself.

“He had a tricky barrier and he rode the horse very well. He knew what he had to do, and I just said go and do your best. Adam is a very underrated rider.”

Interestingly enough, Sewell is one of four different riders to have partnered The Driller in the geldings last four starts.

“I use a little core group of jockeys all the time and Adam is very much part of that core group,” explained Manzelmann. “He was booked to ride one of my horses.” (Manzelmann originally had three runners, The Driller, Savvy Legend and the emergency Motamayiz in the mix).

“Lacy Morrison had the pick ... and she went Savvy Legend and then Adam had the next pick and got The Driller. Unfortunately, Savvy Legend hurt himself and was scratched so Lacy ended up on the emergency.”

While hardly noticed, that emergency, Motamayiz, a $61 outsider, also performed admirably for the stable, finishing in fifth place.

“I’ve currently got about thirty-five horses in training,” said Manzelmann, “and I’ve got a share in most of them, including The Driller.

“We only breed a couple a year ourselves, but most of them are sourced out of the tried horse sales on the internet.

"It all pans out alright.”

While not all times are good ... the inevitable periods of struggle seem to come on a loop for most trainers ... making the most of what you have got to work with is key.

The rewards and the return of both of Manzelmann’s recent cup winners ... with Savvy Legend having accumulated R328 492 in prize-money and with The Driller coming in at $246 743 (that’s fifteen wins between them now) ... stand as a testament to Manzelmann’s ability to do just that.

All credit to him.

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