Growing Empire has created a massive reputation in a short period of time, but the Yulong colt will take the hype to a new level with a win in Friday night’s Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley.
The 1200-metre weight-for-age event will be just the sixth start for the Ciaron Maher-trained youngster, who is chasing a fifth-straight win after brilliant wins in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes and Listed Poseidon Stakes this campaign.
He is already in the conversation as the most exciting three-year-old in the country and, being by a superstar stallion Zoustar, he could become the most valuable if he wins.
Growing Empire’s Manikato Stakes test comes 25 years after one of his forebears won it in an even more embryonic stage of his career.
The Rick Hore-Lacy-trained Redoute’s Choice logged one of the more amazing Manikato Stakes wins when he bullied his older rivals out of the 1999 edition.
He scored by 1-1/2 lengths from Group 1 winners Marstic and Flavour with Isca, the Lightning Stakes and Newmarket Handicap winner of a few months earlier, among the also-rans, prompting Greg Miles to declare “a star is born” as he crossed the line.
It was just the third start for the unbeaten son of Danehill, and first since the Group 1 Blue Diamond, which emphasised to the racing world it was witnessing a special talent.
Not that John Messara, who would later oversee his legendary stallion career at Arrowfield Stud, needed to be convinced.
“My interesting in buying him preceded the Manikato Stakes, I was interested in buying him after his first start,” Messara said.
“I had an indirect involvement from an early time, because they booked the mare (Shantha’s Choice) into Danehill with me personally – I took the booking and made sure they got the mating – and I was also the underbidder on the mother at the sales as a yearling.
“So, my destiny was entangled with that horse one way or another and I was following him from the day he entered the stables.
“But the Manikato Stakes was a weight-for-age race, so it was a significant addition to his CV, and there’s no doubt it was a good underpinning of the stallion as a future breeding proposition.”
Redoute’s Choice was beaten at his two starts that followed the Manikato, in the then-Group 2 Ascot Vale Stakes at Flemington and Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, before winning an epic Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
That was when Messara finally struck the deal to secure Redoute’s Choice, who added a Group 1 CF Orr Stakes to his resume before embarking on a stud career that generated three Australian Champion Sire titles and 40 individual Group 1 winners.
One of those, Lankan Rupee, is Redoute’s Choice’s lone Australian Horse Of The Year and won the 2014 Manikato Stakes.
Redoute’s Choice was the last colt to win the Manikato Stakes in its original mid-August timeslot and it has undergone several date-changes since, including three years on Grand Final Eve, from 2009-11.
The only Manikato Stakes-winning colt to win since Redoute’s Choice was Sepoy, in 2011.
The Manikato returns to Grand Final Eve this year after a dozen years as part of the Cox Plate Carnival and has drawn a talent-laden field of 13, several of whom carry Redoute’s Choice blood.
Growing Empire owns a 3×3 cross with Zoustar’s dam Zouzou being by Redoute’s Choice, while his dam Miles Of Krishan is a daughter of Redoute’s Choice’s son Snitzel.
As principal of one of the biggest studs in the country, Messara has taken a keen interest in Growing Empire and is fascinated to see how he performs against the likes of I Wish I Win, Hayasugi, Estriella and Veight.
“He’s got tremendous acceleration, he’s been very impressive and I’m looking forward to seeing him in better company now, which he’ll certainly meet on Friday,” Messara said.
“Very few horses can jump class in that way, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
Growing Empire is one of two colts in Friday night’s Manikato Stakes and the other, Coleman, is by Pierata out of Sboog, who is a daughter of Redoute’s Choice.
Climbing Star is another by Zoustar, while Johnny Rocker is a great-grandson of Redoute’s Choice, being by Snitzel’s son Jukebox.
