By Glenn Davis
Trainer Kevin Kemp will let rising star Mr Marbellouz determine his own Brisbane winter carnival agenda.
As far as Kemp, a four-times winner of the recent Weetwood Handicap is concerned, it will be a race-by-race process to decide if Mr Marbellouz progresses to the winter sprints.
Kemp will run Mr Marbellouz in the 1200-metre Class Six Plate at Doomben on Saturday in preference to the Listed Ascot Handicap.
He drew well barrier one in the Class Six Plate and barrier four in the Ascot Handicap.
“He drew well in both races but he’ll be hard to beat from one alley in the Class Six,” Kemp said.
Mr Marbellouz was an emergency runner and failed to gain a Weetwood berth at Toowoomba earlier this month.
Kemp is not concerned missing the Weetwood will have any great impact for his Doomben assignment with Mr Marbellouz not starting for a month since he blitzed a Class Six field at Doomben on March 24.
“Normally he runs every three weeks but after missing out on a Weetwood run he won‘t have started for a month,” Kemp said.
“But he’s doing well so I don’t believe it will have any great impact.
“He’s still got another Class Six race he can win and it’s worth $42,700 to the winner.
“If he wins again his rating should shoot up which he might need if he goes on to the winter.
“But I haven’t got anything mapped out for him yet and it’ll be race by race until the bigger races come along.”
Mr Marbellouz has won six of his seven starts with his only defeat at Ipswich in August last year and has won more than $141,000 in prizemoney.
Kemp was super impressed with the Weetwood win of the Ben Currie-trained former Victorian Amanaat who drew barrier 10 in the Ascot Handicap.
“I thought Amanaat’s win was unbelievable and he should be hard to beat in the Ascot,” he said.
“He looks a really good horse.”
Amanaat gave Currie back-to-back Weetwoods at Clifford Park on April 7 and took his tally of wins under the Toowoomba trainer to seven wins from nine starts after transferring from the David Hayes stable in Melbourne.
He was bought at a tried horse sale for only $5,000.
Racing Queensland webnews April 18