Gai Waterhouse has selected a midweek event at Canterbury to kick-start Manahara's preparation but the trainer has plans for the colt to step back into stakes company in the near future.Manahara finished fourth in both the Listed Canonbury Stakes and Group Three Kindergarten Stakes during the autumn and will resume in Wednesday's Freeway Hotel Texas Poker Handicap (1200m) in which he's drawn barrier 13.Waterhouse said Manahara was "definitely a stakes horse" and wasn't concerned with the colt's
Gai Waterhouse has selected a midweek event at Canterbury to kick-start Manahara's preparation but the trainer has plans for the colt to step back into stakes company in the near future.
Manahara finished fourth in both the Listed Canonbury Stakes and Group Three Kindergarten Stakes during the autumn and will resume in Wednesday's Freeway Hotel Texas Poker Handicap (1200m) in which he's drawn barrier 13.
Waterhouse said Manahara was "definitely a stakes horse" and wasn't concerned with the colt's wide draw.
The son of More Than Ready hasn't raced since finishing fifth to Tom's Choice on Randwick's Kensington track in March.
"I thought it (the Canterbury race) was the perfect starting point for him," Waterhouse said.
"The biggest thing with these horses is to lose their maiden status while they are two.
"They have got to be blooded, win their race, and then after that they can go from there."
The Waterhouse stable has produced a couple of smart rising three-year-olds in the past two weeks with Crossbow and Squamosa winning impressively on consecutive Saturdays in Sydney.
Manahara was one of Waterhouse's highly-rated two-year-olds earlier in the season which resulted in him taking his place in the Canonbury and the Kindergarten.
"He certainly was more forward than the others," Waterhouse said.
"The others have sort of caught up to him now and there's probably about three or four very nice colts in the yard, he being one of them."
Waterhouse said the colt would be given his chance to earn a shot at the Group One Golden Rose on August 28.
"Otherwise I'll take him to races like the Up And Coming Stakes and the Stan Fox Stakes," the trainer said.
Glyn Schofield was aboard Manahara when he won an 805m barrier trial by five lengths at Warwick Farm on a slow track on July 9.
However, with 57kg in Wednesday's race Waterhouse opted for her number one stable rider Nash Rawiller to ride Manahara.
"I've elected to put Nash on him because he's a natural heavyweight jockey, after which Glyn Schofield will take him over," Waterhouse said.
Meanwhile, the Waterhouse-trained Golden Slipper placegetter More Strawberries finished third in a 1200m trial, won by the Joe Pride-trained Khemosabi, at Warwick Farm on Tuesday.
"She was against older horses," Waterhouse said.
"Joku (who finished second) is a five-year-old rising six, and the other horse (Khemosabi) is an ex-Kiwi, and they're both seasoned horses.
"Her trial was very good, she's not fit yet, I'm not bustling her and I told Singo (owner John Singleton) I'll take my time."
Waterhouse said she would get More Strawberries fit in the next couple of weeks but said whether to target the Golden Rose or the Princess Series was yet to be decided.