Morgan weighing up Brisbane options for Media Empire

By Glenn Davis

A trip to Brisbane could be the reward for Media Empire if the Rockhampton sprinter continues to progress.

Media Award’s trainer Jason Morgan is weighing up his options whether to try to qualify the seven-year-old for the Country Stampede Final at Doomben in December or aim for a No Metro Wins race at Eagle Farm.

But, first, Media Empire will need to continue his current form when Morgan sends him to Mackay on Friday for an Open Handicap over 1300 metres.

Media Empire - a Jackson Murphy mount - returned to his best form with a dominant win in a 1300 metre Open Handicap at Rockhampton last month.

A son of Winning Rupert, Media Empire is now reaping the rewards of a different training routine.

“I’ve been backing off with him lately and have spaced his races three or four weeks apart and it seems to have helped him get over further,” Morgan said.

“He used to be just a 1000 to an 1100 metre horse until I changed things around with him.

“I think he’ll be competitive again on Friday and if he wins, I might take him to Brisbane for a No Metro Wins race or target the Country Stampede qualifying races.”

Morgan, who regards himself as a “Rocky boy”, hasn’t ruled out another shot at the Country Stampede Final at Doomben if he qualifies.

“He went around in it last year, but it was a bog track which didn’t suit him,” Morgan said.

“I’ll see how he’s going closer to the time whether I bring him back to 1100 metres or aim for a 1300 metre race at Eagle Farm.

“He was first emergency and never got a start in the Battle Of The Bush Final in June.”

Morgan’s stables are close to Callaghan Park, but he will soon base himself at 10-acre property he recently bought not far from the track.

“I’ve got six horses on the books, including three which are currently in work, and I’ve got a few more coming into work at the end of the month,” he said.

Morgan, who has a background in harness racing, grew up in Rockhampton before he and his wife Lisa moved to Papua New Guinea in 2019.

“I’m now 57 and I’ve been dabbling with gallopers since 2000 after I gave away harness training,” he said.

“At one stage my wife and I went to work in a gold mine on an island about a two-hour flight from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

“It was a beautiful spot and we had a ball over there, but we got locked down on the island during Covid.

“My wife turned me into a pig and poultry farmer in Papua New Guinea before we came back in 2021 to train horses.”