The Manikato Stakes is a MVRC Group One Australian Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 1200 metres at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne in September. Total prize money for the race is A$510,000.

The race is named after the great race horse Manikato who won this race twice as well as recording 5 consecutive wins in the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley from 1979 to 1983.

Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2009, the winner of the Manikato Stakes automactically qualifies for a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in the United States.

From 2012, the race date is moved to Cox Plate Carnival Friday night.

1968 - 1971 held over 6 furlongs (approx. 1200m)
1972 onwards held over 1200m.

1968 - 1978 run as a Principal race.
1979 - 1988 run as a Group 2 race.
1989 onwards run as a Group 1 race.

1968 - 1983 the race was known as the 'Freeway Stakes'
1984 onwards the race was known as the 'Manikato Stakes'

Colin Little (born 4 November 1972 in Wythenshawe, Manchester) is an English footballer currently playing for Witton Albion. He plays as a Striker.

Little began his career in non-League football with Rossendale United before signing for Hyde United.

After being spotted by Crewe Alexandra manager Dario Gradi he signed for them for £50,000 in the summer of 1996. After initial success at Crewe he became a journeyman around the Football League, playing for Macclesfield Town and Halifax Town before being released in 2004.

Shortly after this Little signed for Altrincham. He was the club top scorer at Altrincham for the next four seasons. He scored his 100th goal for the club in the 1–0 victory away to Newcastle Blue Star in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round on 26 October 2008.

On 7 April 2010, it was announced that Little would leave Altrincham at the end of the 2009–10 season, in order to become assistant coach for Manchester United under-13s.

He joined F.C. United of Manchester as a player in the summer of 2010 and was named in the 21 player squad for the 2010–11 season by the club. He then scored 2 goals in his league debut on 8 August 2010 for the club after coming on as a substitute in a 5–1 victory over Retford United. However on 10 September 2010 it was announced he had left the club to re-sign for Altrincham on a pay-as-you-play, home game-only deal, whilst still coaching at Manchester Utd. He did not make another appearance for Altrincham before he signed for New Mills in early October 2010. He made his first, and only appearance for the club on 9 October against Maine Road, before then signing for Witton Albion on 26 October 2010.

Gai Waterhouse (maiden name Gabriel Marie Smith, born 2 September 1954) is a Scottish-born, Australian resident horse trainer, businesswoman and a former actress.

Waterhouse was educated at the Kincoppal-Rose Bay School in Sydney, and completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of New South Wales in 1975. The daughter of Randwick racehorse trainer T.J. Smith, she made a name for herself as a model and actor, including in the Australian drama The Young Doctors before moving to England and appearing in the Doctor Who story The Invasion of Time. She then returned to Australia where she served an apprenticeship under her father for fifteen years before getting her own trainer's licence.

She was granted her Australian Jockey Club licence in January 1992, although this was made difficult as her husband, Robbie Waterhouse, was banned over his involvement in the Fine Cotton scandal. AJC rules at the time stipulated that the spouse of a banned person could not be licensed, although this was subsequently overturned. Her first winner was the horse Gifted Poet in March 1992, and her first Group One winner was Te Akau Nick in the Metropolitan Handicap in October that year. After T.J. Smith became ill, he passed on the Tulloch Lodge stable to her in the 1994-95 season.

Stephen James "Steve" Moran, (born Croydon 10 January 1961) was a pacy mobile striker who was one of the stars for Southampton during the mid 1980s. Moran was one of the finest strikers that Southampton has possessed. He had a knack of scoring some crucial goals for the club and had a fine understanding with midfielders Steve Williams and David Armstrong.

Moran attended Prices School in Fareham and appeared regularly for his school team, where he was spotted by scouts. He signed for Southampton in August 1979 and made his debut as a substitute in a 4–1 home win against Manchester City in January 1980, scoring with his very first touch of the ball.

In the 1980–81 season, Moran scored 18 goals in 30 starts in the league, and in 1982 he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

Among the 99 goals that Moran scored for the Saints were a hat-trick in an 8–2 victory over Coventry City at The Dell in April 1984, during the club's most successful ever league season, when they finished as runners-up to Liverpool. In the same year, Moran scored an injury-time winner in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, away to arch rivals Portsmouth. David Armstrong crossed from the right and Moran arrived at the back post to volley left-footed past the Pompey 'keeper Alan Knight.