Group 1 winning colt Bivouac has been installed as the odds on favourite to beat the older horses in the 2019 Group 1 $1m Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m) at The Valley on Friday night.

Bivouac, above, is the odds on favourite for the 2019 Manikato Stakes at The Valley. Photo by Steve Hart.

Bivouac claimed Group 1 glory when he beat the three year olds in the $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill on September 28 and now trainer James Cummings is keen to test the Exceed And Excel colt against the older sprinters at weight for age.

“We saw a G1 performance from him in the Golden Rose and he’s had a month between runs to get himself back together and ensure that he’s ready for another G1 performance,” Cummings said.

“The biggest test will be racing against the older horses. He’s got to prove he’s up to the task.”

“He’s a three-year-old against older horses in this race, but I think he’s shown that he’s a very good three-year-old.”

“It’s no easy feat at this early stage of the season to beat the older horses, but over the years the record of three-year-olds has been quite good.”

Trainer Chris Waller proved that the early season three year olds were able to beat the older horses in the weight for age sprints with Yes Yes Yes setting a course record when he downed the colours of a first class field of sprinters in winning the $14m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick last Saturday.

Cummings is not worried about four weeks in between runs for Bivouac who has had a jump out since the Golden Rose to keep up to the mark.

“He’s looking great, his training has been excellent. A little jump out last week kept him ticking over and I think he’ll handle the Valley quite well,” Cummings said.

Bivouac has drawn the inside barrier in the eleven horse Manikato Stakes field and will be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy taking over from Golden Rose winning jockey Hugh Bowman whose riding weight doesn’t allow him to ride at the 53kg that the three year old colt has to carry at weight for age.

Bookies at Ladbrokes.com.au have Bivouac as the dominant $1.80 favourite for the Manikato Stakes, well ahead of his nearest rival in the betting, The Bostonian at $6.50.

Two three-year-old fillies are also taking on the older horses and under the weight for age scale will carry 51kg with Tim Clark taking the ride on the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Anaheed (barrier 11) and Craig Williams will be piloting the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained Loving Gaby (barrier 2).

Betting for the 2019 Manikato Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $1.80 Bivouac, $6.50 The Bostonian, $9 Trope, $9.50 Loving Gaby, $15 Anaheed, $16 Faatinah, $18 Vital Silver, $26 Rock Magic, $41 Winter Bride, $61 Meryl, $81 Ashlor.

Final field for the 2019 Manikato Stakes (1200m)