Railway raider pleases Alderson in Ellerslie hitout
Dennis Ryan • January 20th, 2026 2:36 PM • 4 min read
Cranbourne trainer Cindy Alderson left Ellerslie on Tuesday morning well satisfied that Jigsaw is on target for his Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) mission.
The last-start winner of the A$1 million The Meteorite (1200m) on his home track in late November confirmed his position as equal favourite for Saturday’s big sprint with a bold hitout under regular rider Logan Bates.
“I was really pleased with him, he appeared to enjoy himself and Logan confirmed that he handled it well going right-handed,” Alderson said.
“He arrived on Sunday and has settled in well at Donna Logan’s stables at Byerley Park, so having a look at the track this morning will have set him up nicely for Saturday.
“He’s had right-handed experience in Queensland and the StrathAyr surface is familiar given he’s a winner at Moonee Valley.
“They timed him to run his last 600m in less than 36 (35.65s officially), which was all he needed to do on top of the trip over.”
Jigsaw, a seven-year-old gelding by Manhattan Rain, is in the form of his life with wins at his last three starts, the second of those being the Gr.2 McEwen Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day.
He won The Meteorite by three-quarters of a length over Railway rival Arkansaw Kid, who has accompanied Hayes Racing’s Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) candidate Torture to Auckland. They worked together at Ellerslie, timed for their last 600m in 36.52 without being pressured.
The Liam Birchley-trained Karaka Millions 2YO pair Dream Roca and Vanzadee were ridden in solo gallops by Sam Collett, who reported that they both got through their task well.
“The chestnut filly (Vanzadee) ran quicker time (36.51) and the other horse just strolled around (in 39.18), but they both had a good look at their surroundings and given they’ve just got off the plane they felt good,” Collett said.
One of the most scrutinised horses at the Ellerslie gallops was Well Written, the hot favourite for the Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), who pleased trainer Stephen Marsh in her hitout with stablemate The Exponent, clocking 34.81 for the final 600m.
“I thought she worked up very well, I really couldn’t be happier with her,” Marsh said. “She just needed an outing as she’s been very relaxed at home, so this works out perfectly for her.
“Matt said he was ultra happy with her, and now that we’ve got her where we want her, it’s just a matter of counting the days to the weekend.”
