Pillar Of Creation has raced well but without luck in five Queensland starts for trainer Tony Sears who is keen to change that around at Doomben.
The gelding has finished no worse than fifth and finished second in the Listed Weetwood Handicap and third in the Listed Glasshouse Mountains Sprint in May.
He runs in Saturday’s Salmat Open (1350m) from barrier five.
While the five-year-old’s pattern has been to get back and run on late, Sears will not tie Tim Bell down with those instructions.
“Pillar Of Creation just doesn’t seem to be having much luck in his races,” Sears said.
“When he raced in Victoria he could lead in his races so we won’t be afraid to go to the front on Saturday.”
“He is well drawn and if no one else want to lead we can.”
Pillar Of Creation was formerly based in Melbourne with Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra. He won six races for that partnership, leading in two of them.
At his most recent start in the Listed Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich on JUne 13, he was shuffled back to second last before charging home to finish fifth behind Group One winner Smokin’ Joey.
Bell replaces the suspended Luke Tarrant on Pillar Of Creation.
Last year’s premier Brisbane jockey, Bell is on 51 metropolitan wins this season, trailing Jim Byrne by 13 going into the Doomben meeting.
While it seems unlikely he can catch Byrne by season’s end, Bell has the chance to move to second in the coming weeks with Tarrant serving a careless riding suspension before he begins a reckless riding ban.
Tarrant had his reckless riding ban reduced from six weeks to four on Friday but will not be back until August 4.
Byrne rides the Mick Price-trained Jazz Song in the Salmat with the Coolmore-owned mare the $3.30 favourite.
A Group Three winner in her native Melbourne and successful in the 2014 Gai Waterhouse Classic in Brisbane, Jazz Song finished 2-1/2 lengths fifth in the Dane Ripper Stakes at her most recent start.
AAP TURF mro/cw/wb
