Jockey Damian Lane is convinced dual Group One winner The Bostonian will be better suited at The Valley in the Manikato Stakes than the last time the New Zealand sprinter raced there.
The Tony Pike-trained The Bostonian made his first appearance at The Valley in the Group One Moir Stakes (1000m) last month and had a wide run from a deep barrier before hitting the line well for an unplaced finish to Nature Strip.
The gelding has since finished third in the Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield behind The Everest minor placegetter Trekking and returns to The Valley for Friday night’s weight-for-age Group One Manikato Stakes over a more suitable 1200m.
Lane rode The Bostonian in a track gallop at the course on Tuesday which has added to his belief the sprinter will be better suited on Friday night.
“He seems to have come through his last run in good order,” Lane said.
“He’s a pretty clean-winded horse so he was just out for a look around on Tuesday morning and I was really happy how he tracked around the corner.
“He got a bit lost around the corner in the Moir but he tracked around the corner really well so I was happy with him.
“I feel he will handle the track better on Friday night and I also think the 1200 metres will be better for him because he will be able to travel around the corner rather than be run off his legs like he was in the Moir.
“He has been great in both runs so far this preparation and he’s been building towards the 1200 which is going to really suit him.”
The Manikato Stakes field will not feature any of the 12 sprinters who ran in the $14 million Everest six days earlier.
The Bostonian, however, will have to meet star colt Bivouac who takes on the older sprinters for the first time after his last-start Group One win in the Golden Rose.
Bivouac has beaten subsequent Everest winner Yes Yes Yes in his past two starts, highlighting his credentials.
The James Cummings-trained Bivouac is the odds-on favourite with The Bostonian on the second line of betting at $7 in Manikato Stakes odds.
