Photo: Trish Dunell
Respected horseman Ralph Manning has been a prolific purchaser on gavelhouse.com over the years, and a pair of his bargain buys played starring roles on Australian racetracks on Saturday.
Manning paid only $7,750 to secure Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) from a gavelhouse.com auction in August of 2020, while he bought Step Aside (NZ) (Redwood) for $2,300 a few months later.
Fast-forward to Saturday, when the exceptional Mr Brightside added a ninth Group One win to his record with a typically tenacious performance in the Lamaro’s Hotel Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield. Step Aside, meanwhile, won the fourth race of his career with an emphatic victory in the A$160,000 Rosehill Bowling Club Handicap (1300m) in Sydney.
“I’ve bought a lot of horses off gavelhouse.com over the years, I’m probably just about their biggest buyer,” said Manning, who trains dozens of racehorses at Cambridge as well as purchasing bloodstock to trade.
“It’s always good to see some of those past purchases doing well on the racetrack.”
Manning marvels at the career of Mr Brightside, who has now amassed more than A$16.98 million from a 42-start career that has produced 19 wins and 13 placings. His Group One successes have come in two editions of the Doncaster Handicap (1600m), Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and Futurity Stakes, along with victories in the Champions Mile (1600m), Memsie Stakes (1400m) and CF Orr Stakes (1400m).
Manning won a trial with Mr Brightside at Matamata in January of 2021, then saddled him for a desperately unlucky fifth on debut at the same venue a month later. That was his only appearance before he was purchased by clients of Lindsay Park in Australia.
“For a horse that cost less than eight grand on gavelhouse.com, it’s amazing what Mr Brightside has gone on to achieve,” Manning said. “He always showed a lot of ability. He was just a little bit of a rogue early on, so we had to get him to enjoy life around the stable and enjoy racing.
“I still don’t know how he managed to get beaten in that first start at Matamata. Opie Bosson never ducked back inside like that in his career, but he did it that day and got shut out of a gap. But it didn’t matter in the end and the horse has never looked back. It’s been great to see what he’s gone on to do in Australia.”
While Step Aside’s achievements pale in comparison to those of Mr Brightside, the Chris Waller-trained has nevertheless compiled a very tidy record with four wins, eight placings and A$293,100 to his name from 20 starts.
“I bought Step Aside because I trained the mother Teena Rox (NZ) (Roc De Cambes) and really liked her,” Manning said. “I always thought she was good enough to get all the way to open class, but unfortunately she was injured twice after winning twice from a handful of starts. She seems to have produced a pretty capable horse with Step Aside.”
Currently online is a 55 Lot mixed bloodstock sale with bidding closing from
7pm (NZTD) on Monday 3 March.
