Manaccan too good for Scarbrough rivals

Doncaster Listed success for John Ryan’s runner.

Manaccan continued his ascent up the sprinting ladder with a clear-cut victory in the Cazoo Scarbrough Stakes at Doncaster.

Having plundered a valuable handicap at Ascot in early August, and finished third when stepped up to Listed class at Newmarket three weeks later, John Ryan’s charge was the 13-8 favourite on Town Moor.

King Of Stars ensured the five-furlong contest was run at strong pace and quickly moved into a clear lead while Ryan Moore – replacing Hayley Turner aboard Manaccan- elected to play his hand late.

As King Of Stars began to pay the price for his early exertions, the market leader quickened up smartly once asked for maximum effort to grab the lead and had a length and a half in hand at the line.

Mo Celita was a clear second, with Attagirl beating the admirable King Of Stars to third.

Ryan said: “We were probably a bit unlucky at Newmarket, we raced over six (furlongs) and we hit the front a bit too soon. Hayley couldn’t have done a thing, the race opened up and he just got mugged on the line. Today Ryan’s given him a superb ride, as you’d expect, he’s got a lot to offer.

“Hopefully we’ll got to Newbury for the International Trophy. Ground is a big issue for this horse, he does prefer it on the good side rather than the soft side.

“He’s such an easy horse to deal with, he’s so professional and he has been since day one – he eats, sleeps and races and that’s what you want. We travelled up here in the horse box today and you wouldn’t have known he was on the back. He’s a pleasure to deal with.

“We’ve given him all the time in the world, he’s got a very patient owner in Graham (Smith-Bernal) and he always says ‘if it’s not right for the horse, don’t go’.

“To have someone who gives you that free rein and says ‘if not today, we’ll go next week’ is a dream for a trainer.

“The ground is probably going to go against us after Newbury, he wouldn’t be a horse that needs to do too much more this year. I think he’s going to be a better horse next year.

“He’s one of these lovely, honest horses and if you threw him in the deep end over five furlongs in a big race, he’d have that turn of foot to get him out of trouble at the end.

“He’s the best one I’ve had for a while, I’m lucky in that I’ve had a few good ones for a small yard. Group Two winners, Group Three winners and Lincoln winners, when you’ve only got 18 horses it’s not easy to come by ones like this.”

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