It might feel as though Jigsaw has been part of the sprinting ranks for years, but the Cranbourne feature on Saturday will mark just his 36th career appearance.

The Cindy Alderson-trained seven-year-old debuted with a Geelong win in January 2021 and now aims for his 12th victory when he lines up in the $1 million The Meteorite (1200m).

Jigsaw heads into the race chasing a third straight win and what would be the most lucrative success of his career.

A consistent performer over several seasons, he has returned more than $1.35 million in prizemoney and produced a brilliant patch in his four-year-old season, stringing together four consecutive wins that included three Stakes triumphs, among them the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.

His victory in last month’s McEwen Stakes over the Moonee Valley 1000m secured his Meteorite slot via the Moonee Valley Racing Club.

Winless for two-and-a-half years before that breakthrough, Jigsaw had still performed honestly throughout, and Alderson said a freshen-up returned him to peak form.

“It’s exciting and he’s in fabulous form and ticking all the boxes at the moment,” Alderson said.

“He’s a horse that has seasons. His coat has never looked better, he’s never been brighter and never eaten any better than he is at the moment.

“He had a nice long break, for no particular reason other than we thought he had a fair time of it, so he’s come back from that in great order.

“Hopefully we’ll get a good track on Saturday, and it will be all systems go.”

To keep him sharp ahead of the four-week gap between runs, Alderson took Jigsaw to Cranbourne on Tuesday for a racecourse gallop.

It proved worthwhile, with the gelding reacquainting himself with a circuit where he boasts three wins from four attempts.

“We had planned to trial him last week, but with the rain, the trials got cancelled, so I thought he needed a bit of stimulation as it would be four weeks between runs,” Alderson said.

“Gavin (Bedggood) gave us one to work with and he really enjoyed that opportunity to work with another horse and get his competitive juices flowing.”

Apprentice Logan Bates retains the ride, having partnered Jigsaw in each of his three runs this preparation.

“He’s pretty excited and it’s been a pretty good journey for Logan and I to share this opportunity together,” Alderson said.

“He rode the Moe Cup winner for us on Sunday, so it’s been going well for us at the moment.”