Geisel Park sire Manhattan Rain will be double-handed in the $1 million Cranbourne Meteorite (1200m) on November 22 with his quality sprinters Jigsaw and New York Lustre.
Jigsaw qualified for part-owner and trainer Cindy Alderson after a front-running victory in the G2 McEwen Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day. He holds the Cranbourne 1000m course-record (57.24s) and is unbeaten on home turf.
Fellow Cranbourne trainer Enver Jusufovic is also setting his mare New York Lustre for the seven-figure slot race after she closed Saturday’s Victoria Derby meeting with a late burst in the G3 Kirin Ichiban Sprint (1100m) at Flemington.
She became the 20th individual stakes winner by Manhattan Rain when skirting the grandstand rail to nail the straight-six sprint from Flying For Fun (Spieth) and Arabian Summer (Too Darn Hot). Her career card now stands at 6 wins in 14 starts for prizemoney of $470,000.
“I thought she put the writing on the wall last start in the (LR) Alinghi Stakes at Caulfield,” Jusufovic said. “She has a mind of her own but we added blinkers today and that kept her focused. She’s tough and has been up a long time although we give her nice little breaks in between.
“The plan was to go out again but I will have to persuade her owner Mike Howard to have a go at The Meteorite on Cranbourne Cup Day.”
Manhattan Rain sired New York Lustre from Sheikh Mohammed’s Canterbury winner Copper (Shamardal). She’s a half-sister to Viridine (Poet’s Voice) who won six black-type races in Melbourne, Sydney and Scone topped by the G2 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
Winning jockey Carleen Hefel confirmed the blinkers made all the difference on Saturday. “She was hitting a flat spot and taking time to wind up but her work was perfect in them on Tuesday morning. She had something to follow today and really attacked the line.”
Geisel Park stands Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago) for a $5,500 service fee alongside Winning Rupert ($6,600) and Aysar ($8,800). Fees (inc GST). For bookings or further information, contact stud manager Conor Dunlop on 0447 434 735.