A wet track is no concern for top central Queensland sprinter Master Jamie but his big weight has his connections on edge for his return to Eagle Farm.
Eagle Farm has had soaking rain this week and while there is little danger to the meeting, it has trainers pondering how it will play.
It is the first time the track has had soaking rain which is different from the heavy downpours last month which ran off quickly.
Master Jamie made it 10 wins from 13 starts when he won a three-year-old handicap at Eagle Farm with 59kg on January 18.
He returns in similar company over 1200m again on Saturday but this time has 61kg and is giving the second topweight six kilos and the rest of the field seven.
Trainer Graeme Green resisted the temptation to claim on Master Jamie when regular rider Les Tilley was unavailable and has booked Jim Orman.
“Master Jamie can be tricky in the barriers and he isn’t really an apprentice’s horse,” Green said.
“He has got the grandstand on Saturday but he is so consistent he was always going to get a big weight.”
Unlike many trainers Green is not concerned with how the Eagle Farm track will play.
“He has won on heavy tracks in Mackay and Rockhampton so rain is no worry. But getting through a heavy track with 61 kilograms could be,” Green said.
Master Jamie is being aimed at the $300,000 Three-Year-Old Jewel at the Gold Coast on March 14 but the gelding will return to Rockhampton after Saturday’s race.
“He can have a few days in the paddock at home and then we will get ready for The Jewel,” Green said.
“It is restricted to QTIS horses but it will be a strong race.”
The Three-Year-Old The Jewel is a new race to be run in conjunction with the $500,000 Two-Year-Old The Jewel which has proved a major success since being introduced three years ago.
