Ed Dunlop’s Manndawi finished an excellent third in the Geelong Cup, but Quest For More disappointed behind Almoonqith.
Northumberland Plate winner Quest For More was saddled with top weight at Geelong racecourse and was bidding to book his place in the Melbourne Cup field with victory.
However, Roger Charlton’s horse struggled from his wide draw in the Group 3 contest over a mile-and-a-half and faded out of contention after being handy in the early stages.
In contrast, Manndawi finished strongly in the hands of Kerrin McEvoy without ever being in a position to catch Almoonqith after meeting trouble in running.
Dandino, who has raced for several trainers in Britain and is a former winner of the American St Leger, finished second behind the former Mike de Kock-trained Almoonqith.
Manndawi’s performance capped a fine few days in Australia for Dunlop, whose Ascot Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris finished second in the Caulfield Cup last weekend.
Dunlop’s assistant trainer Robin Trevor-Jones said: “He didn’t have a lot of luck in the race with a few horses coming back under him.
“That’s not his style as we wanted to get rolling with him but he’s battled on well and Kerrin is really happy with him. He’s hit the line hard and ran very, very well.”
Manndawi could next run in either the Queen Elizabeth Stakes or Sandown Classic next month before continuing his career in Australia, while connections of Quest For More will have to wait to see if he makes the cut for the Melbourne Cup.
