Green unveils Master plan
EAGLE FARM
TRAINER Graeme Green is back in Brisbane on Saturday with his “special horse” Master Jamie in a race that could kickstart a winter campaign that runs up the entire east coast of Queensland.
Rockhampton-trained Master Jamie created a huge impression in the summer, winning twice at Eagle Farm – the second time under the steadier of 61kg – before a bout of ross river fever ruled him out of March’s rich QTIS 3YO Jewel at the Gold Coast.
The handicapper has catapulted him to 63.5kg for Saturday’s race, meaning if he is successful, it will be the biggest weight carried to win in Brisbane since Chief De Beers in 1998.
The weight has dimmed Green’s confidence of Master Jamie adding a 12th win to his record today, but a good performance will be enough to send him off to the Rockhampton Newmarket later in the month, followed by possible runs in Mackay and Townsville’s feature sprints as well.
“I stated publicly I thought he was vulnerable first-up (at Rockhampton on June 23) when he wasn’t 100 per cent fit and now, because of the weight, I feel the same about this race,” Green said. “Race fitness is what beat us first-up, but I expected that.
“I was just so happy to see him perform as well as he did (a narrow second) after coming back from the virus.
“It wasn’t major, but after something like that you just want to see them come back and he did everything I could have hoped for.
“With 63.5kg (today), it will be very testing for him again. If he can finish in the first five I will be over the moon with that sort of weight from a sticky barrier draw.”
Green said he wasn’t tempted to use an apprentice claim on Saturday, because
Les “Bub” Tilley knew the horse well and he didn’t want to put his entire campaign at risk.
“During the race, he’s a press-button horse, lovely to ride, but can be a bit of a flea in the gates and I didn’t want to run the risk of someone getting on him that doesn’t know him,” Green said.
“The last thing I would want to see is for him to get scratched at the gates. Les has done an excellent job for us and knows the horse like the back of his hand.”
If Green doesn’t push on to the Rocky Newmarket, the other option is to stay in the south and run in the Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich, but the preference is to return home.
“Hopefully he races and recovers well and we can then go to the Newmarket,” he said.
“The weight he gets in that race depends on what horses come from down south. He’s a very special horse and it’s just great to have him back.”