The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace stable landed its 100th metropolitan winner for the season when Mankayan scored at Sandown on Saturday.
The European import remains unbeaten this campaign after taking out the Ladbrokes Punter Assist Handicap (1800m) having scored first-up at Caulfield last month.
Getting in with 1kg over the minimum following the claim of apprentice Matthew Cartwright, Mankayan, the $3 favourite, scored a two-length win over Royal Mile ($11) with Hezashocker ($5.50) three-quarters-of-a-length away in third place.
Noting the 100-win milestone, Eustace said: “Thank God for that, we needed it after the day we’ve had, a lot of bad luck.
“A hundred winners in town, just full credit to the whole team across the whole state so that’s for them.
“We couldn’t do it without them, to get the horses running so well in town with the strike rate across a long period is all credit to them.”
Mankayan was having his ninth Australian start on Saturday and registered his third victory, while only once has he finished out of the top three.
Eustace said it had taken a while for the stable to work out the gelding.
“He’s good fresh and he doesn’t need to stretch out much further than that just yet, maybe 2000 (metres),” Eustace said.
“I think he’s got room in the handicap to get to open class, but we don’t need to get too carried away.
“Hopefully he’s got another win in him, there’s obviously a lot of options in the spring and he’s a very versatile horse.”
Michelle Payne, who was having only her fifth race ride for the year, finished last on Pondus, a $390,000 purchase from the Lloyd and Nick Williams team that Payne also trains.
“He did not handle that ground,” Payne said.
“Down the back I thought we were in a lot of trouble, he just wasn’t handling it.”
Pondus finished a long last, more than 40 lengths from the winner.
