Ciaron Maher pulled off the rare feat of winning the Manikato Stakes with a three-year-old filly in 2019 and Victoria’s leading trainer is looking to do it again this Friday night.

Maher, who trains in partnership with David Eustace, has last-start Moir Stakes winner Coolangatta heading to the $2 million event at The Valley.

The daughter of Written Tycoon will be looking to emulate Loving Gaby, who registered the first of her two Group 1 wins in the Manikato Stakes three years ago.

Coolangatta needs to stretch her brilliance out to 1200 metres at weight-for-age and Maher is looking to her Golden Slipper run for confidence that she can be a force with just 51kg on her back.

“She was basically first up in a Slipper on a Heavy 10 and ran third,” Maher said.

“She run the 1200 in the Magic Millions, weight-for-age will definitely be tougher, but Jamie (Kah) rode her in a trial last Monday and said she felt great.

“She’s in great order.”

Coolangatta, who has had six starts for four wins and two third placings, had an 800-metre jumpout at Cranbourne last Monday and won by two lengths despite little urging from Jamie Kah over the concluding stages.

Loving Gaby joined Dual Choice, who won the Manikato in 1970, as the only fillies to win the race that was first run in 1968 when she won the Manikato, which was once the first Group 1 of the season and has called Cox Plate weekend home since 2012.

Seventeen other fillies have contested the Manikato with Anaheed, who finished third behind Loving Gaby, the only other to place.

Coolangatta will not be Maher and Eustace’s only Manikato Stakes runner with Bella Nipotina, who finished runner-up to her stablemate in the Moir Stakes, also a confirmed runner.

The trainer is also mulling over whether to back-up Generation, who finished fourth in the Moir and ran third in Saturday’s Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1000m).