Manfred was purchased at the 1924 Sydney Easter Yearling Sales for the sum of 1,400 guineas by Ben Chaffey.

[1] His most famous performance was in the AJC Derby where he refused to start until all six of his rivals had travelled half a furlong (100m).

His jockey, Billy Duncan managed to get him going where he eventually overtook the field and won the race by 1 ½ lengths.

A week later he refused to gallop in the Caulfield Guineas but went on to win the Cox Plate and VRC Derby at subsequent starts.

For the last two years of his life, he was a pensioner at the stud and then, rather than risk the old horse seriously injuring himself, in June 1940 he was humanely destroyed.