A stubborn beast, when Manfred did decide to run, his talent was undeniable

Manfred was by the champion sire Valais, the Leading sire in Australia for 5 seasons between 1923 and 1928 from the mare Otford (AUS). Grandsire, Cicero won the 1905 Epsom Derby. Manfred was purchased at the 1924 Sydney Easter Yearling Sales for the sum of 1400 guineas by owner Ben Chaffey.

Ben Chaffey, a seasoned owner of champion horses, embarked on a new venture with the acquisition of Manfred. This acquisition would lead him through a spectrum of emotions, from the pinnacle of exhilaration to the depths of frustration. Harry McCalman, the trainer of Manfred, was a native of Casterton and had spent his early days as a jockey in the Western District of Victoria. In 1904 he quit the saddle and established himself there as a trainer and met with early success in races like the Hamilton and Ballarat Cups. He eventually removed himself to Bendigo, attracted by the warm, dry climate. Manfred joined those at the Sandhurst stables at Bendigo in the spring of 1924 to begin his career on the Turf. Chaffey named the colt after the character and the play conceived by Lord Byron when the famous poet toured the Valais district. Despite his participation in early spring and summer juvenile races in Melbourne, it was not until autumn that Manfred truly demonstrated his exceptional potential.

Manfred had an unimpressive record as a 2YO, finishing well beaten in six races before his first win. The young horse achieved moderate success in both the Sires’ Produce Stakes and Ascot Vale Stakes at Flemington. However, upon his arrival in Sydney, he demonstrated a transformation in his performance. A temperamental horse, he officially raced 28 times in his career; however, he only took part in 22 of them, refusing to gallop in six of those races in the best traditions of the stubborn Chautauqua. On the Monday following the Sires’ debacle where he failed to run when the tape dropped, the colt easily won the Easter Stakes despite being kicked at the barrier. In the Champagne Stakes on the following Wednesday, Manfred produced the best performance of a juvenile that season in winning in course record time with eight lengths to spare to his nearest rival, Los Gatos.

Manfred went on to record victories in races including the 1925 VRC Derby, AJC Derby, Champagne Stakes and the W. S. Cox Plate, as well as the 1926 Caulfield Cup. His most famous performance was in the AJC Derby in front of 80,000 where he refused to start until all six of his rivals had travelled 100m. He was badly left at the start by swerving sideways towards the running rail, and he must have been at least a furlong behind the leaders when Billy Duncan swung him around and finally got the horse going. This, in a nine-furlong race when the young Manfred was 3lb over weight-for-age, and was meeting a field of good-class older horses that included a future winner of an Epsom Handicap and Caulfield Cup, in Metellus and Textile. Yet Manfred from eighty yards behind gathered them up and powered wide around the outside to win comfortably. In a rush, the crowd surged to the enclosure fence to cheer and cheer again as both horse and jockey returned to the birdcage. A week later Manfred refused to gallop in the Caulfield Guineas but went on to win the WS Cox Plate and VRC Derby at subsequent starts. Following his refusal to start in the final two times he went to the tape he was retired to stud.

Manfred enjoyed considerable success at stud as the leading sire for five seasons and among the best of his progeny were The Trump (winner of the 1937 Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double), Red Manfred, Mildura, Manolive and Manrico. For the last two years of his life, he was a pensioner at the stud and then, rather than risk the old horse injuring himself, in June 1940 he was humanely destroyed.

RACE RECORD - 28: 11-5-2
EARNINGS - £29,830

VRC Derby (1925)
AJC Derby (1925)
Champagne Stakes (1925)
W. S. Cox Plate (1925)
Caulfield Stakes (1926)
Caulfield Cup (1926)
Melbourne Stakes (1926)
October Stakes (1926)