RISING galloper Anlon ensured the Chester Manifold Stakes stays within Ballarat's grasp for another year with a narrow win in the listed feature at Flemington today.
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The Darren Weir-trained five-year-old emulated the feats of Dan O'Sullivan's British General from last season with a nose victory over Limes in the 1400m event.
This afternoon's win, under the care of jockey Dean Yendall, continues a sharp upward spiral for the son of Stratum, who has now won three races this preparation, including one at Flemington on New Year's Day.
Anlon is another advocate for Weir's Warrnambool satellite stable, with the master trainer sending the horse to the beach setting shortly after getting him from former mentor Peter Morgan.
"We kept him at the stables for about a month and he was just working too hard and things weren't heading in the right direction. Obviously Peter was a good trainer and (Anlon) was trained on the track before we got him, so we decided to swap things around and head to the beach," Weir said.
Weir said the horse's sharp improvement had surprised him, but admitted it was good to win a black-type race for long-term owner Gerry Ryan.
"The horse has got a bit of a wind issue and if you heard him after trackwork you would wonder how he does it," Weir said.
Anlon, who has risen from a benchmark 84 win late last year to a listed success, now has seven triumphs from 25 career outings.