Manaal set to contest the Sweet Embrace Stakes

Manaal has largely flown under the radar since her Gimcrack Stakes win, but trainer Michael Freedman is looking for her to put her name back up in lights at Randwick.

A narrow victor of Sydney’s first two-year-old race of the season, Manaal returned with a closing second to the speedy Lady Of Camelot in the Widden Stakes (1100m) on February 3.

Manaal conceded the winner three kilos from a wide draw, and with Lady Of Camelot franking the form with her brave second in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes, Freedman has taken only positives from his filly’s performance.

“We had to ride her (quiet) from where she drew and giving three kilos and a start is never easy,” Freedman said.

“Her run was terrific on a track that tends to favour leaders, that 1100 at Rosehill, which it did again that day.

“From a campaign going into the autumn, it was a great return. She’s in great order.”

While the colts and geldings have all but dominated the two-year-old headlines this season, there was a shift in the Blue Diamond with the first four horses across the line fillies.

Manaal likewise gets an opportunity to serve a reminder of her autumn credentials in the Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) on Saturday, just over an hour after raging Golden Slipper favourite Storm Boy struts his stuff in the Skyline Stakes (1200m).

She is a $2.15 favourite for the Group 2 race and a $34 chance in Golden Slipper odds.