David Hayes is more than hopeful Eagle Falls can break his Group One duck in Friday's Manikato Stakes under lights at Moonee Valley.The Hussonet five-year-old has raced at the highest level six times, including twice overseas, without being able to win but has gone close a couple of times.The entire was an unlucky fifth, beaten only three-quarters of a length, to Starspangledbanner after being forced to go wide at the 200m in the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield in February.He then went down

David Hayes is more than hopeful Eagle Falls can break his Group One duck in Friday's Manikato Stakes under lights at Moonee Valley.

The Hussonet five-year-old has raced at the highest level six times, including twice overseas, without being able to win but has gone close a couple of times.

The entire was an unlucky fifth, beaten only three-quarters of a length, to Starspangledbanner after being forced to go wide at the 200m in the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield in February.

He then went down by a length to Wanted in the Newmarket Hcp (1200m) at Flemington, a race which turned into a virtual procession with Starspangledbanner finishing third.

"He's good first-up and he's good at the track," Hayes said of Eagle Falls' three wins and a second at the Valley and two first-up wins from four tries.

"He hasn't run for a while but his last two runs in Australia he was very unlucky not to have won. They were both pretty good runs."

Hayes is yet to win a Manikato but Eagle Falls will be ridden by Damien Oliver who is after his third win in the race after Sonic Express in 1991 and Dane Ripper in 1998.

Eagle Falls is at $12 with TAB Sportsbet which has posted the John McNair-trained Hay List as $1.90 favourite.

The giant sprinter made it 10 wins from 12 starts when he had his first start at Moonee Valley with an impressive victory over Catapulted and Manikato rival Reward For Effort in the McEwen Stakes (1000m) on September 11.

"He (Hay List) looked pretty good, but I had a horse who won that race impressively last year, Nicconi, and he got beaten in it," Hayes said referring to Nicconi's third to Danleigh in the 2009 Manikato.

Gosford-based McNair expressed some nervousness with Hay List who will be attempting to land his first Group One win and comes up against Group One winners All Silent ($6.50) and Reward For Effort ($11).

"I don't have any doubts he's the best horse, but sometimes the best horse doesn't always win," he said.

"I've got concerns about the night air. We've got to overcome that. I might be worried about nothing, I'm a bit of a panic merchant at times. It's the first time he's going to be under lights as well.

"I don't (usually) race my horses at night. I'm afraid of the dark.

"But good horses have a habit of overcoming all sorts of things."

Love Conquers All ($6.50) will wear a tongue tie for the first time after his inglorious last as favourite in the Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) at Flemington earlier this month after Team Hawkes believed he choked down in the race.

The Mossman four-year-old has an impressive overall record of six wins from 10 starts including a win over Hay List in the June Stakes (1100m) on a slow track at Randwick three starts back.

Before coming to Melbourne Love Conquers All beat Danleigh when he won the Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.

Others in the market are Group One placegetters Bank Robber ($10), having his first start for the Mark Kavanagh stable, and the Bart Cummings-trained Latin News ($14).