Jonker has stamped himself as the new kid on the block with a powerful win in Friday night’s Manikato Stakes under lights, adding a group 1 to his CV ahead of a future stud career.

The track played fast after the anticipated rain missed Moonee Valley, with track manager Marty Synan factoring in it would need to cope with another nine races on Cox Plate Day on Saturday.

But that meant every horse had their chance, and the well-backed Jonker thrived through sustained speed to claim his first group 1 win, under jockey Daniel Moor.

It was Moor’s third group 1 this spring, continuing his hot form, and comes just weeks after he won his second group 1 at the same track on sprinter Wild Ruler.

“It was great. I said to Peter and [trainer] Tony Gollan this morning, this horse gave me a very similar feel to Wild Ruler in trackwork here alone last week,” Moor said.

“He’s had no luck all prep, and I’m just really pleased to get the job done.”

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The race had copped criticism for attracting a below-par field, impacted by the $15 million Everest run in Sydney a week earlier. But in hindsight will Jonker be able to prove whether he warrants the tag as a group 1 weight-for-age sprinter or not?

His form had been OK heading into the race, but the punters knew he was coming to play, backing him late in the betting into favouritism. And the Queensland-trained son of Spirit Of Boom made the most of the opportunity, winning his connections $600,000 in the process but, more importantly, turning himself into a group 1-winning stallion.