The wet track statistics of Safework are not encouraging but trainer Scott Morrisey is not prepared to write off his chances in the Gold Edition Plate at Doomben.
Doomben was on the brink of an upgrade to a slow rating for Saturday’s meeting until persistent showers in Brisbane on Thursday pushed it back into the heavy 8 category following almost 100 millimetres of rain in the past week.
At his only previous start on a heavy track, Safework finished fifth at Doomben on July 25 when resuming from a spell with Jim Byrne aboard and he rides him again on Saturday.
“Jim said to me after the race, ‘look he got through it alright and tried hard and wanted to win but his fitness just gave out on him’,” Morrisey said.
“Whether or not you can say he handled it, we’ll have to wait until Saturday.
“It’s obviously a worry but we won’t shy away from it.”
Safework has impressed Morrisey with his progress since finishing a close second to Shooting For Gold in the Winning Rupert Plate (1200m) at Doomben on December 5 when the gelding was returning from a let-up.
“He’s well and I’m happy with him,” Morrisey said.
“He normally races well second up so we just hope he’s nice and competitive moving forward to the Magic Millions Guineas, which is his main aim.”
The laidback attitude of Safework has endeared him to Morrisey and his staff.
“He’s just amazing,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of nice horses over the time but he’s just an absolute professional, never a worry.
“You could take him to the races, tie him up, walk away and come back and he’d still be in the same spot without turning a hair.”
Following the Gold Edition, Morrisey plans to start Safework in the Group Three Vo Rogue Plate (1400m) at Eagle Farm on January 2 as his final lead up to the $2 million Magic Millions Guineas (1400m) at the Gold Coast a fortnight later.
