A homebred for the Alderson family, the Cindy Alderson trained colt Jigsaw has a debut victory over Blue Diamond winner Artorius on his resume so always looked a good thing when resuming from a spell in a mid-winter event at Caulfield on Saturday.
Sent out a short priced favourite for the 1100m scamper, the son of Manhattan Rain proved much the best horse for Mark Zahra, leading all the way to win by two lengths.
Zahra was full of praise for Jigsaw, who has two wins and a placing from four starts with earnings just shy of $160,000, his lone unplaced run coming in the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes when he finished eighth.
"I was going to play it out how he jumped. He's a really professional racehorse. He canters to the gates fine, stands there as quiet as a lamb and pings them. I was happy to take it (the lead) up,” Zahra said.
"He led, he was able to come back underneath me and when I asked him for an effort he put pay to them in the straight."
Cindy Alderson is in no rush with Jigsaw and has an eye towards the spring.
"He won't have a run now for a while,” she said.
“He might go to a race at Moonee Valley and then if he goes well there we'll look at a stakes race there."
Jigsaw is a half-sister to stakes-placed Queen Adele and is the best of three winners from Demandz, a winning Lonhro daughter of stakes-winner Loaded Command.
Jigsaw looks a bright prospect for the coming season for Manhattan Rain, who stands at Blue Gum Farm this spring at a fee of $11,000.
Best known as the sire of Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign, Manhattan Rain has over 80 juveniles running for him this season as he has proven popular with Victorian breeders since his relocation from Arrowfield and those horses may well see the son of Encosta de Lago enjoy a resurgence as next season unfolds.
