Manikato Stakes Day will be held at Caulfield on Sunday, with the Group 1 sprint traditionally held at Moonee Valley on a Friday night. There will be a nine-race program for the meeting, with the track currently rated a Good 4 and the rail out 13m for the entire circuit.
We take you through each race on the card and bring you all of our best bets for Caulfield below! And if you're keen to have a bet on Sunday and want to try out a new bookie, why not try Unibet?
Caulfield Racing Tips: Sunday, September 27th 2026
Race 1: Ladbrokes Brian Kruger Handicap 1100m – 12:45pm AEST
(5) Tales Of Time is having his first second-up run of his career at start number four and it will be interesting to see how much improvement comes after a run under the belt. The three-year-old colt won impressively at Sandown-Hillside, flying down the outside to win by a length under a hold. He should contest better races than this and looks very hard to beat here.
(11) Jarbardar finished second at his most recent race outing, beaten three lengths by Natural Fling who has since won the Quezette Stakes at Group 3 level and was third in the Group 1 Moir Stakes. Jarbardar won a jump out a couple of weeks ago and looks primed to run a huge race.
(5) Tales Of Time WIN
$2.70 (2 Units)
Race 2: Sportsbet Jim Moloney Stakes 1440m – 1:15pm AEST
(4) Pretty Baby is a South Australian-based filly prepared by Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle. At her first Victorian run in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes, she settled midfield and exploded away from them with 200m left to win by 3.75 lengths. If she gets another good run throughout, she should prove hard to hold out late when she accelerates.
(1) Cherry Bomshell won the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick in April and will be looking to get back to her best. After a disappointing first-up run, she finished fourth in the Group 2 Furious Stakes and looks a huge threat in this race.
(4) Pretty Baby WIN
$2.00 (3 Units)
Race 3: Drummond Golf JRA Cup 2000m – 1:50pm AEST
(2) Future History returned with a third placing at Flemington over 1700m and he will relish the step up to 2000m. Draws gate one and can land on speed here with Smokin’ Romans the likely leader. Six of his 10 wins have come over the distance and the 59.5kg is a lot better than the 62.5kg he carried last time.
(11) Darkbonee carries the lightest weight of 54kg, like half a dozen of his rivals, and can be forgiven after pulling hard and finishing well back. He has since had a jump out and being freshened up may be beneficial. Expecting him to run a bold race.
(2) Future History E/W
$6.50/$2.40 (1U/2U)
Race 4: Dominant Scarborough Stakes 1200m – 2:25pm AEST
(2) Chayan comes out of the Group 2 Furious Stakes where she finished eighth. The winner of the Group 2 Reisling Stakes at Randwick from earlier in the year has raced twice at Caulfield, finishing second in a Blue Diamond Prelude behind Streisand who won the Blue Diamond and ran second in the Golden Slipper. At her best, Chayan will prove hard to beat so happy to be in her corner with James McDonald riding.
(12) Over The Bridge won on debut at Bendigo by two lengths and it was an impressive effort, scooting up inside runners when the run presented in the home straight. She is prepared by leading trainer Ciaron Maher and looks to have plenty of upside.
(2) Chayan WIN
$4.40 (1.5 Units)
Race 5: Ladbrokes Feehan Stakes 1600m – 3:00pm AEST
(5) Pride Of Jenni is a nine-year-old mare, the winner of 13 races and more than $12 million in prizemoney. Her bold frontrunning tactics captivate viewers and there’s no doubt she will be in front once again. She has had a pair of jump outs in preparation for her first-up assignment. She defeated Birdman in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes in May, and he just came out and won the Group 1 Underwood Stakes. She should prove hard to catch.
(3) Another Wil chased home emerging star Sheza Alibi in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington a fortnight ago. He can mix his form but has won four times at Caulfield from nine starts.
(5) Pride Of Jenni WIN
$1.95 (3 Units)
Race 6: MSC Signs Stutt Stakes 1600m – 3:30pm AEST
(5) Somethings Burnin’ has been consistent all prep long, finishing on the podium in all three runs. The colt started with a victory at Sandown-Lakeside before finishing second at Sandown-Hillside. At the latest, he was third in the Listed Exford Plate won by Lara Antipova who lines up here in the Stutt Stakes. It was a good effort, making up a lot of ground to finish 1.21 lengths away. If he can stay a bit closer in the run, he can finish strongly and turn the tables.
(10) Lara Antipova has lost just once in six career starts and the filly looks a strong chance to win again. She should map well from gate four, but there were a couple of better runs in the Exford Plate despite the fact that the filly won the race. Looks a bit too short in a competitive race.
(5) Somethings Burnin’ WIN
$6.50 (1 Unit)
Race 7: Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes 1600m – 4:05pm AEST
(1) Sass Appeal goes forward from gate four either to lead or settle just behind the leaders and she looks to have strong claims. She was a good effort for most of the mile last start before weakening late in the straight to finish fourth, beaten 1.2 lengths. She ticks a lot of boxes here.
(5) Changing Colours made it a hat-trick at Sandown-Hillside as she continues to work through the grades. Barrier 10 won’t be the easiest to overcome as she may be giving them a decent head start in the run, but she should be doing her best work late and could win again.
(1) Sass Appeal WIN
$4.40 (1.5 Units)
Race 8: Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes 1200m – 4:45pm AEST
(5) Beiwacht drops back 200m after his dominant victory in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes as he beat Mr Brightside and Cosmic Crusader by three lengths. He is yet to win over 1200m from four attempts, finishing second in The Run To The Rose back in 2025. Despite this not being his pet distance, he still looks fairly hard to beat as he tries to win a third consecutive Group 1 race.
(2) Pericles is another Godolphin runner like Beiwacht and he could be worth a throw at the stumps here. The gelding runs well fresh, winning four times from eight starts, has finished in the placings in four of six at Caulfield, and handles any ground. He won the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at the track back in February, so at huge odds, is worth a small ticket.
Also backing: (2) Pericles WIN $31.00 (0.5 Units)
(5) Beiwacht WIN
$3.30 (2 Units)
Race 9: Sportsbet Testa Rossa Stakes 1440m – 5:25pm AEST
(9) Harry’s Yacht finished fifth in the Group 3 The Heath 1100 won by Oliveanotherday and getting out to 1440m looks ideal as the gelding has won four from eight at the distance. Hopefully Ben Allen can land midfield behind the speed and there should be quite a few go-forward horses in the event. He hasn’t won second-up from a spell which is the biggest knock here.
(13) Buccleuch has won both starts this prep, the latest in a Benchmark 78 Handicap. He has nice closing speed and he can make them pay if they over-do it out in front. From the wide draw, Billy Egan probably sits back until the time is right to hit the go button.
(9) Harry’s Yacht WIN
$4.60 (1.5 Units)
