In the south-west of NSW the deeds of Group I thoroughbred breeder Bob Manwaring are the talk of the town of Harden after he was honoured at the TBNSW awards at Randwick last Saturday with local journalist Matt Stadtmiller telling his story.
Matt is the editor of local news website Twin Town Times, who have kindly sent us the following:
“I got a broodmare off a bloke around the time Riley (Bob’s son) was playing Under 9s soccer, so it would be 21 years now.”
That’s how long Harden-Murrumburrah local Bob Manwaring has been in the breeding and racing game, running his own show. Taking mares to stallions and doing it his way.
Bob said, “I said to Allison when I first started, don’t expect any results for the first ten years.”
What he told his wife Allison proved to be right, and he continues to be making plenty of good choices and knowing where he is going for the last two decades.
In an industry that has come under increasing pressure of late, with interest rate rises, cost of living and costs of breeding and raising offspring, Bob has bucked the trend in the racing game and like those who are still competing, he is collecting some cheques along the way and making a name for himself while he is at it.
The prize money hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s just some of the participants have and some of the top end prize money favours the top end players with races such as the Everest or the Golden Eagle, while bush prize money remains strong, yet stable. It probably means there’s more for the rest of us now.
Saturday night saw Manwaring pick up his second NSW President’s Breeder’s Award. The first was in 2017 on the back of the success of Grande Rosso and Capital Gain, the latter taking out the Group 1 JJ Atkins.
Moving to today, Headley Grange has always been a very good gelding, mainly ridden by Adam Hyeronimus, who knows how to keep the spritely six year old in check. Headley can get excited at times.
He has been unlucky at times, however when put in the right spot can do amazing things and win by a nose on the line. He has collected $2,705,335.
Headley will line up against some of the stars who raced in The Everest this Saturday in the Russell Balding Stakes (G2) over 1300m.
There’s $3million on offer, with first place getting over $1,725,000; however, it’s not always easy to be on top with the likes of Jimmysstar, War Machine, Spicy Martini, Private Eye and Grafterburners, to name but a few taking him on.
“It is the second time I have won the award. I won in 2017 with Capital Gain. Grande Rosso won four or five races that year for me as well.”
The award’s ceremony was held in the President’s Room at Randwick. “There were a number of awards, 2 year old Champion, Sire of the Year, Champion Broodmare of the Year and Leading Sire of the Year. I think there are six awards in total.
“Our win was for Best Breeder in NSW, so anyone with six broodmares or less.”
The award is a testament to Manwaring’s skill. Both the sire Exosphere and dam Hard Go Jo are now deceased, but there are another couple of bullets in the barrel ready to be fired, with Hard Go Jo having a few foals after Headley.
While accepting the award, Manwaring told the crowd the half-sister to Headley was about to race in Brisbane.
Twisted Queen took her place in the line up in the Ladbrokes Dragonet 2020 Benchmark 70 Handicap, where she was an emergency at number 17 and duly slated the judge by a length.
It was a length between her and the second horse and daylight to the pack. Most of the crowd got on her. She and the second horse fought it out while the rest of the field was lengths away.
??? Twisted Queen loved every bit of the heavy conditions! A great steer from @emilyyplang for @JackBruceRacing at Eagle Farm #QLDisRacing ?? https://t.co/pK7YCWwXzx
— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) October 24, 2026
“At the end of the speech, I said I’ve actually got Headley Grange’s half sister about to run in Brisbane in about 5 minutes’ time. I said, we’re all pretty positive that she can win this race today, so it would probably be worth having a little investment on it, and she won well, Twisted Queen, she won by about a length pulling away from them. It nearly brought the house down because everyone backed it.”
“There was a fair bit of confidence in her too. She got backed from 8’s into $3.60.”
Manwaring speaks his mind and there’s plenty who listen. He disagreed with Headley’s original direction before ending up with Joe Pride instead of staying in the bush.
With Twisted Queen, he told Pride she was going to Brisbane and again he was right. He has been right a lot lately.
Manwaring fired a few truths into the crowd about the adversity small breeders faced.
“In my speech, I said obviously the first one wasn’t a fluke, or maybe it was, or maybe it is getting too tough in this game for the small breeders. Maybe I’m the only one that’s left in this game as a small breeder; everyone else has probably got out of the game because it is too hard for them to make a living anymore.”
Hard Go Jo has now departed. Unfortunately, she got colic and passed away. Exosphere has passed away as well. Manwaring stated he was fortunate to get the best out of the breeding before they went to the big paddock in the sky.
“In my speech I also said, if you had an unlimited budget, who knows what the small breeder could breed. I guess the small breeders are successful because they breed to race; they are not breeding to sell, because the sales companies just don’t want to talk to them in the sales ring.
“When you are putting all your hard earned into it, it is not cheap to stay in the game and when you are putting your heart into it, you have really got to make sure that you are trying to get the right mare for the right stallion and if you are breeding to race, you have got to make sure you have the right sire to suit that mare.
“It is not all about just going out with a mare that has won a Group 1, and then send her to I Am Invincible for $300,000 and get something to put in a sales ring because it could never win a race.”
After 21 years, Manwaring still loves a win wherever it is and it’s part of what keeps him going.
“I took a horse up to Cooktown last year and it was just as good and an exciting thrill as the big races.
“A Group 1 is a great thrill obviously, as I did that with Capital Gain, but it is just as exciting to take one up to Cooktown and win one at a stand-alone meeting last year. It was just as good. If you don’t enjoy that side of it, you are probably doing it for the wrong reason.
“The win for Twisted Queen was a Saturday win for her in Brisbane, so that makes her quite valuable as a broodmare now after Headley Grange. She is probably a valuable broodmare now. She won quite well; she’s only getting out over the distance and needs further.
“She got third in her first start with Jack Bruce, she’s had two seconds in a row and she won on Saturday. And getting up over the ground where she needs to be. We will probably step her out over a bit more ground.
“It was good to get the award and then five minutes later watch my horse win! What a night!
“I have the So You Think filly who has won a race. She got a bad injury, but she won a race for me. She is a half sister to Headley. So You Think is a pretty good broodmare sire, so she got in foal this year to Bivouac.
“As far as breeding goes, Twisted Queen would be a good cross for a High Chaparral. We will race her for 12 months and if she’s poking around up there at the right time and gets the right track and a bit of rain, she might pick up a Listed race for us, that will top that off for us.”
Manwaring’s daughter Emma and wife Allison are doing a lot of planning for Emma’s wedding, while sons Riley and Will are the twin town’s most prominent Rugby League footballers and are now further following their father’s footsteps, a great footballer himself.
Riley loves the pedigrees and Will knows what they have punted on before with a near photographic memory.
“They get there, but it is a bit hard at the moment, we have got a fair bit happening. Emma and Alison are doing a fair bit of planning for Emma’s wedding coming up, so it’s all systems go,” said Bob, who is always looking to the future.
“Allison got to go to the races last time with Headley Grange. He will be hard to beat this weekend. He will be against all the Everest horses.
“He’s ready to go; he’s bouncing out of his skin. He got held up in behind them last start and couldn’t get a crack at them. So he had it pretty easy last start.
“It is good when you have a horse that can win for you; you can have a bit on him with a bit of confidence. Keep an eye on Headley Grange this Saturday as he could go on with it. He is a horse that knows how to win and wants to win.”
Keep an eye out for the offspring of Hard Go Jo. The little mare from the Riverina who has turned Manwaring from a small time breeder into a beacon of light for those wanting to chase a dream on the track.
It can be done, and he has done it, more than once.
