Manaal ready to go in The Invitation 2025
Michael Freedman will look to extend an impressive spring campaign with his star mare Manaal, who headlines Saturday’s Group 2 The Invitation (1400m) at Rosehill.
The daughter of Tassort has already stamped her class this season, winning the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes and Golden Pendant, and now chases her third feature victory of the preparation. A Group 1 winner at two in the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), Manaal has amassed almost $2 million in prizemoney and continues to improve with each run.
Under the set weights and penalties conditions of The Invitation, Manaal will carry 59kg — just below multiple Group 1 winner Stefi Magnetica — and Freedman believes the conditions and trip will play to her strengths.
“She’s great and she’ll line up in The Invitation,” Freedman said. “She’s been thriving this preparation and it’s the right race for her.”
Freedman has already seen Manaal beat several key rivals, including Gerringong, Firestorm and Gangsta Granny, despite giving them weight, and said another strong showing could open the door for a quick back-up into the Golden Eagle (1500m).
“She’s probably a little untested at the mile, but I think the 1500 metres will be fine,” he said. “She ran really well in the Coolmore Classic in the autumn and that gives me confidence. The only time she went further was the Champagne Stakes as a two-year-old in very heavy going.”
Manaal sits as the $4 favourite for The Invitation ahead of Miss Roumbini and Stefi Magnetica and remains a $21 chance for the Golden Eagle, where she could clash with unbeaten star Autumn Glow, who heads betting for the $10 million feature.
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