Black Caviar And The Rare Honour Of Winning Your Own Race

Kristen Manning

Editor

Last updated: Fri 13 Feb 2026 04:50

Kristen Manning 13 Feb 2026

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Legendary horses like Manikato and Kingston Town won races that were later named in their honour
Winx helped elevate her named race to Group 1 status, showcasing her impact
These horses not only won major races but left unforgettable legacies

Hugh Bowman on Winx (R) rounds the home turn on her way to winning the 2018 Winx Stakes. (Getty)

With the first of Melbourne’s Group 1 races for the year - the $1 million Black Caviar Lightning Stakes - the feature of Saturday’s Flemington card, it is timely to take a look at horses who have managed to win the race that would go on to honour them.

Manikato - The Man
Kingston Town - The King
Might And Power - The Might
Winx - Debbie’s Star
Verry Elleegant - Elle

Such as Black Caviar, winner of the 2011 and 2012 editions of the Lightning and again in 2013 when it was renamed The Black Caviar Lightning.

It is for a select few that such a privilege is bestowed, and we take a look at another five.

Manikato - The Man

A champion anywhere, but a horse who really loved Moonee Valley, Manikato earned his fame for many reasons - one of those being his ability to come up year after year. The William Reid Stakes is a fine example of his durability, the big chestnut winning that race five years running between 1979 and 1983.

He was also able, three years apart (1979 and 1982), to win two editions of the Freeway Stakes, which was, in the year of Manikato’s premature death (1984), renamed The Manikato.

He would be proud of the quality of horses who have his race on their resume, the 1200m dash won by the likes of Sunline, Redoute’s Choice, Hay List, Lankan Rupee and Chautauqua; last spring’s edition was taken out by Charm Stone.

Buried at Moonee Valley, where he raced on nine occasions for eight wins (a Feehan Stakes third over 1600m his only defeat there), Manikato is rightfully remembered as one of the finest sprinters Australia has produced.

Kingston Town - The King

October 23, 1982 was a great day to be at Moonee Valley, the day Kingston Town overcame Bill Collins’ famous words to win his third W.S. Cox Plate - a record not equalled until Winx came along - while Manikato secured victory in the Moir Stakes.

Whilst Manikato has his Moonee Valley race, Kingston Town has had two races named after him, and he won both of them.

In 1980 and 1981 he won the STC Cup, firstly as a Group 3 contest and then as a Group 2. Prior to his first victory in the 2400m race he had won six Group 1 races and, in between, he won the first of his Cox Plates.

The race was renamed The Kingston Town Stakes in 1984 (two years after his retirement) and is still known as that, last year won by Birdman.

A month after his third Cox Plate victory - and his memorably frustrating Melbourne Cup second, giving Gurner’s Lane 3kg - Kingston Town headed to Perth for what would be his swansong in a race then called the Western Mail Classic.

From its beginnings in 1976 (won by another Cox Plate hero in Family Of Man) until 2006 the race had various sponsors’ names before being called the Kingston Town Classic in 2007. It was run under that name on 15 occasions before being changed to the Northerly Stakes in 2022.

Kingston Town also had the honour of being one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame.

Might And Power - The Might

First run in 1886 as the Caulfield Stakes, that track’s signature 2000m weight-for-age event boasts an impressive honour roll, having been won by the likes of Wakeful, Eurythmic, Heroic, Manfred, Chatham, Hall Mark, Tranquil Star, Bernborough, Lord, Winfreux, Gunsynd, Family Of Man, Kingston Town, Bonecrusher, Sydeston, Rough Habit, Northerly, Lonhro, So You Think and Winx.

And in 1998 by the devastatingly brilliant Might And Power.

A member of the second crop of star stallion Zabeel, the big-striding gelding was favourite in the race as he headed towards his W.S. Cox Plate victory a couple of weeks later.

The race was the first in a three-race winning streak which culminated in the gelding’s last win, the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

It was in 2022 that the Caulfield Stakes was renamed The Might And Power Stakes, won by Anamoe, Alligator Blood, Deny Knowledge and Globe.

Winx - Debbie’s Star

Run from the early 1920s until 2017 as the Warwick Stakes - moving from its traditional Warwick Farm home to Randwick in 2014 - this 1400m contest is another race with a remarkable list of winners.

Such as Chatham, Flight, Super Impose, Sunline and Lonhro.

Kingston Town won it three years running and so did Winx, whose stellar form helped earn the race an upgrade from its Group 2 status to a Group 1 in 2018.

She had won it twice at Group 2 level and again at Group 1 level - the same time it was renamed in her honour.

She has wins in this race in common with Kingston Town, as well as significant Cox Plate history.

And, like him, she won two races now named after her.

The other being the Sunshine Coast Guineas, the race that kicked off her remarkable winning streak - the day she decided that losing was no longer for her.

Since 2020 it has been the Winx Guineas, a 1600m Group 3 contest that enjoyed another big moment in 2023 when won by Knight’s Choice, who would go on to win the following year’s Melbourne Cup.

Verry Elleegant - Elle

An English village after which AJC committeeman William Long named his land - which eventually led to the name of the suburb - Chipping Norton had a race named after it in 1925.

A weight-for-age race run until 1954 over ten furlongs and until 1979 over a little longer (2100m), the Chipping Norton Stakes has been run over 1600m since 1980 and, having been won by the likes of Phar Lap, Bernborough, Comic Court, Tulloch and Emancipation, was upgraded to Group 1 status in 1986.

Since that time it has been won by several topliners such as Super Impose, Tie The Knot, Lonhro and Starcraft, with Verry Elleegant joining fellow Chris Waller star Winx as a multiple winner.

Winx won the race four times between 2016 and 2019, Verry Elleegant twice in 2021 and 2022.

It was not long after her untimely death - in foal for the first time to Sea The Stars - that Verry Elleegant was chosen by the ATC as a horse to remember and the Chipping Norton was renamed.

Anamoe and Think It Over won the first two editions, whilst Chris Waller had an emotional moment winning it last year with Via Sistina.

Other horses to have won races named after themselves include Zipping (Sandown Classic), Penny Edition (SAJC Cup), Lord Reims (West End Export Stakes), Euclase (Angus Brut Classic), St Steven (a Moonee Valley steeplechase) and Starspangledbanner (the Inglis 2YO).