As Rotorua prepares to welcome racegoers back for the time-honoured Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup Day on Saturday, 9 May, one name continues to hold a special connection with the feature race.
Few trainers know the Listed Rotorua Cup better than Ralph Manning.
A three-time winner of the race, Manning returns to this year’s meeting with the same measured outlook that has defined a career spanning more than four decades.
Raised in Waeranga, Manning’s life in racing began early.
“We rode ponies on the farm and Dad always raced a few, owner-trained horses,” he says. “I was at pony club from four years old. I wanted to be a jockey and was an apprentice until I got too heavy.”
That early passion turned into a lifelong profession. Now 63, Manning has been training for more than 40 years after getting his trainer’s license at 22 years of age.
“I’ve been training forever,” he laughs. “Since just after the ark came in.”
Today, he keeps a balanced stable of around 25 horses, preferring to stay deliberately small.
“I try to keep it around that number so we’ve got the right balance.”
Across that time, there have been plenty of career highlights from training the outstanding Seachange, a two-time Horse of the Year title holder and winner of seven Group 1 races, who took him to Australia, Dubai and the UK, to winning his first of several New Zealand Cup’s as a 22-year-old trainer.
But Rotorua has always held a special place.
“Rotorua has always been a lucky track for me,” Manning says. “Even if I’m having a run of poor luck, I always seem to be able to get a winner there.”
That affinity has translated into three memorable Rotorua Cup victories with Laud Peregrine (2000), Pump Up The Volume (2015) and most recently Nigella Lane (2025).
Each horse brought its own story.
“Laud Peregrine had won the New Zealand Cup for me and came back from injury to win at Rotorua. Pump Up The Volume did it the other way round and went on to win a New Zealand Cup later on too as well as the Fielding Gold Cup,” he says.
Then there’s Nigella Lane, last year’s winner and a mare Manning speaks of with quiet admiration.
“She’s just a good mare,” he says simply. “She sprints, she stays, she goes on good tracks, she goes on wet tracks. She’s just a good mare, you know?”
Her versatility was on full display last season, when she dropped back in distance after her Rotorua Cup success to win the Listed Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes after a runner-up performance the year prior.
“I think she’s a genuine stayer, but we’ve just targeted the suitable races for her all the way through. She’s a good tough mare that’s now won a few stakes races.”
For Manning, the people behind the horses are just as important as the results. He trains exclusively for a close-knit group of long-term owners and friends.
“I only train for my friends and don’t take outside horses. The people I train for have been with me for 25 years now,” he says.
“It does make it more special. They’re all good friends, they are the only ones who can handle me!” he laughs.
As anticipation builds for this year’s Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup, Manning is hopeful Nigella Lane may return to defend her crown, although true to his practical nature, only if she’s right.
“She’s still aimed for there, but she’s had a few niggles, so if she isn’t right we won’t be trying.”
Either way, Manning expects to be trackside. “You’ll see me there with something.”
And for all of us heading to Arawa Park in early May, that feels fitting. After all, for one of racing’s most quietly respected horsemen, this track has long been a place of good fortune.
Rotorua Racing Club General Manager Damien Radesic says Manning’s long-standing support has made a lasting impact.
“Ralph has been a valued supporter of ours for many years from regularly attending industry days to winning some of the big ones on black-type race days. His ongoing commitment and support of our club and the sport is always much appreciated."
“Like I said,” Manning smiles, “even if I’m training badly, I’ll still manage to get a winner at Rotorua, so I’ll always go there even just to keep my spirits up.”
Join us on Saturday, 9 May, for Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup Day, Rotorua’s premier racing event of the year.
The day features the prestigious Group 3 Rotorua ITM Stakes alongside the time-honoured Listed Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup, promising thrilling autumn racing action.
With free general admission, family entertainment including a bouncy castle, face painting and free games for children, plus hospitality available in the Lakeview Lounge, it promises to be a fantastic day out for the whole community.
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