Manton Bay
Manton Bay didn’t have a lot of luck through the closing stages of the Northfields Handicap, the contest that brought the curtain down on the weekend.
Slowly away and back worse than mid-division early on, he moved towards the outside early in the home straight, but he didn’t really get a clear run at it until very late in the piece. Rider Luke McAteer had to sit up on him for a few strides on the run to the furlong marker when a gap closed in front of him, costing him ground and energy as well as momentum. He was always in traffic after that, but it was notable that, when he did get into racing room towards the far side deep inside the final furlong, he picked up well and went to the line strongly, finishing a clear fifth, three lengths behind the winner Orandi.
This was probably another step forward by David Marnane’s horse. Winner of a rated race at Killarney in August over a mile, when he left the impression that he had more in hand than the bare half-length winning margin, he ran a big race in the Irish Cambridgeshire next time to finish a clear second behind Andy Slattery’s exciting four-year-old Loughrea. A half-brother to stayers Whirling Dervish and Gaillefontaine, he shaped that day as if he would appreciate a step back up to 10 furlongs, and he saw his race out well on Sunday over that distance. He is a progressive three-year-old who has the potential to go beyond the rating of 97 off which he raced on Sunday, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next.
© sportinglife.com
The Curragh, 13th September 2026
Back