He's an attention-seeking "real character" who will give you a forceful bunt or a little nip to let you know he's there, in the unlikely event that you forget you're in the presence of 16 hands of well-muscled equine power.
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He's also a "cunning" animal, who will gladly have a "lend" of a jockey if not treated with sufficient authority.
Brooke Stower knows exactly how to treat Manabar, a nine-year-old gelding.
And at Warialda on Saturday afternoon, the Tamworth jockey piloted Manabar to a comfortable victory in the $11,000 Warialda Cup, a benchmark 66 over 1400m.
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It was his second cup triumph this preparation, following a NarrabrI Cup victory in March, and his third win overall this preparation: he won a 1400m benchmark 84 at Tamworth on April 11.
At the first Warialda Cup meeting since 2019, Manabar - who has 12 wins from 70 starts for more than $191,000 in prize money - started the short-priced favourite and beat the Zach Hatch-trained Red Zephyr (Jacob Golden) by almost three lengths.
The Jacob Perrett-trained Turn Table (Jodi Worley) was more than four lengths away in third place.
The horse's Kootingal-based trainer, the affable Michelle Fleming, said the gelding had always been "quite consistent". He has 19 minor placings.
"You've just gotta know the horse," she said. "Like I've always said, he can be very cunning ... If you're not aggressive with him or dominant, he'll just go and canter around [the track]."
"He will have a lend of you," she added.
The veteran thoroughbred will also get physical to get your attention. He was a "beautiful horse", Fleming said, but he "might bunt you or bite you just because he likes your attention all the time".
"So he might give you a bunt with his head," she continued, "and he's quite solid at doing that. He's a real character."
Fleming has a small operation on a tranquil, well set-up property on Sandy Rd. She has five horses in work, and spoke fondly of them while detailing their different personalities.
It was lovely to observe her interacting with the animals, and observe their response to her; how they were desirous of her touch. It was peaceful.
Fleming said Saturday's meeting was made more special because the late Tamworth jockey Darren Jones was "watching over us". Jones died in a race fall at the 2017 Warialda Cup meeting.
He had ridden for her on a number of occasions.
It was just special winning a race over there at Warialda. Because when we go to Warialda, we always know that someone close to our hearts is watching over us out there - and that's Darren Jones ... We just know he's there with us.
On Saturday, luck was finally with the Warialda Jockey Club. After Covid and rain resulted in the cup's cancellation the past two years, a "beautiful morning" segued into an afternoon with initially "a nice breeze", said WJC secretary Ellie Skinner.
"Around 4[pm], the winds picked up and the gazebos were blown about," she said. "Then it started to rain after the last race. Overall, a great day."
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
