Lachie lands 80/1 longshot-again!

Talented Queensland harness racing driver Lachie Manzelmann blew punters out of the water with an unwanted longshot at the weekend, but he was far from surprised.

"I just thought we'd get a perfect trail from inside the back-row draw and while her form didn't look great on paper, she hadn't been having much luck," he said.

Manzelmann, 20, landed 80/1 rank outsider Miss Giulietta (Somebeachsomewhere-East Empress (Presidential Ball) in the Kerry Ebert-Life Member Pace at Redcliffe on Sunday night.

And it's not the first time he's been the bookmakers' pin-up boy – he's steered home long-shot winners on two previous occasions.

The Redcliffe race panned out pretty much exactly as the youngster had predicted with the pole horse Im Isabella (John Kerr) holding the lead and bowling along at a steady clip.

"We were always going to get the sweet run and I was confident I could be right in it with the aid of the sprint lane. In the end it all worked out well," Manzelmann said.

Miss Giulietta just got the first prize with a short head margin over Shadys Delight (Trent Moffat) with a half head back to third placegetter Having The Faith (Zac Chappenden).

To watch the replay of Miss Giulietta's victory click here.

Manzelmann said he only had two engagements at the Redcliffe meeting, the pair being trained on the track by Bianca Hooper.

"I thought they both had rough chances with the right runs. I just missed with Bianca's first one, getting beaten by a half head on Michaels Desire. So, I must admit that I then had high hopes for Miss Giulietta," he said.

"She is an honest filly. I actually won on her about six starts ago in January at the track. Bianca only trains three or four, but she does a good job."

Two other long-priced winners have been landed in recent years by the young driver who is nearing 150 career victories.

Manzelmann got former old warrior Cruisin Carl (Western Terror-Official Search) up at odds of 80/1 for trainer Shane Parrish at Albion Park on September 2, 2017.

"I remember that very well because it was my first metropolitan win," he said.

Cruisin Carl ended up with 24 wins and 54 placings for $120,000 from a massive 248 starts. He raced from 2010 to 2017.

And it's fair to say that Manzelmann and supporters of the Shane and Lauren Tritton stable won't be forgetting the night the youngster claimed the $100,000 Group One Newcastle Mile on February 8 last year with Yayas Hot Spot (Jeremes Jet-Star Of Heaven)-also at 80/1.

"That win was special. I worked for Team Tritton for nearly two years and it was a fantastic experience. They gave me a heap of opportunities and I learnt a lot," he said.

Manzelmann later joined the boutique McDowell stable, where he stayed for four months. Then it was back to his native Queensland.

"I started my career with Pete McMullen and initially I was there for three years. Now I've rejoined Pete and Chantal and I'm really enjoying it."

Over the past few seasons, he has continually increased on his tally of winners-having a standout 2018/19 season with 61 wins and 94 placings for $636,000.

Manzelmann has two drives at Albion Park this afternoon-but pre-post markets are playing it safe with Kotiro (race 5) quoted a $3.40 chance, with Arthur Lowe (race 7) a little longer at $15.

Terry Gange

NewsAlert PR Mildura