Three-year-old Manhattan Island will be on a quest for redemption when he heads to Warwick Farm on Christmas Eve.

The horse started favourite on debut earlier this month but was never a factor on the heavy ground and finished down the track.

And it wasn't just punters who expected better.

"I thought he'd win last start. I've had a bit of an opinion of him," trainer Kevin Moses said.

"He did a few things wrong and he got on the wrong leg.

"He doesn't do anything wrong at home and he's done nothing wrong in his three trials.

"He is a very big horse, he's 570 kilos, so maybe he doesn't want a wet track."

Manhattan Island, who lines up in Wednesday's Testa Rossa @ Vinery Handicap, is by Manhattan Rain out of Sara's Choice who was trained by Moses.

She was a Listed winner and finished fourth to Samantha Miss in the 2008 Group One Flight Stakes but her career was cut short when she was injured in a paddock accident after just 11 starts.

Moses admitted he was keen to get hold of her progeny and paid $35,000 for Manhattan Island as a yearling.

"He's a lot like her," he said.

Manhattan Island's rivals include Freeze The Charges, an impressive last-start winner at Kembla Grange where she led throughout to score by almost four lengths in slick time.

Trainer Jason Coyle is hoping the speedy filly handles the transition to city grade.

"She was good at Kembla. She ran through the line but it's another test at Warwick Farm and it's a very competitive race," Coyle said.

Moses will also start Plutorius in the Cal Rei Handicap after opting to give the six-year-old a stamina test, rather than a grade hike into the Group Three Summer Cup on Boxing Day.

A winner up to 2200m, Plutorius will be stretched to 2400m for the first time on Wednesday but Moses is confident he will cope with the trip.

The trainer also reported Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Zoutenant had come through last week's win in good order and confirmed he would go straight into the $2 million version at the Gold Coast without another run.