Emerging sprint star Albert The Fat is not a certain starter in the $100,000 Goldmarket with trainer Eden Petrie concerned he may have too hard a run from an awkward barrier.Petrie will decide overnight if the nominal favourite will start in the Goldmarket (1300m) at the Gold Coast on Thursday.He said the lightly raced sprinter was 100 per cent fit but said the uncertainty arose after he drew barrier 10."At this stage he is a 50-50 chance of starting," Petrie said."I can't fault him. He has come

Emerging sprint star Albert The Fat is not a certain starter in the $100,000 Goldmarket with trainer Eden Petrie concerned he may have too hard a run from an awkward barrier.

Petrie will decide overnight if the nominal favourite will start in the Goldmarket (1300m) at the Gold Coast on Thursday.

He said the lightly raced sprinter was 100 per cent fit but said the uncertainty arose after he drew barrier 10.

"At this stage he is a 50-50 chance of starting," Petrie said.

"I can't fault him. He has come through his last run beautifully and he has ticked every box but the last thing I need is him having another gut buster with the Magic Millions next weekend."

At his last start, Albert The Fat sat four deep throughout after drawing barrier 17 in the Doomben Stakes (1350m) and he never stopped trying in the straight to finish fifth, a length behind Barlinnie.

Petrie said Albert The Fat's main goal this preparation had always been the $500,000 Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 10 and the rookie trainer was reluctant to jeopardise the horse's chance in that race.

"The horse's best interests come first. We will have a sit down and a chat with the other owners overnight and I'll make my mind up then.

"If he had drawn from one to five he would have been a certain starter. I'm just worried that a really tough run like he had last start could be detrimental to his chances in the Magic Millions.

"But in saying that, it's hard to bypass good class races like the Goldmarket when your horse is going as well as this bloke is at the present."

Petrie was only granted his licence in October but his skill to take Albert The Fat from defeat in a Murwillumbah maiden on debut to a leading contender in the time-honoured Goldmarket Handicap is a feat to make any trainer proud.

But there was a time when even Petrie questioned his judgment.

"I couldn't believe it the day he got beat at Murwillumbah. Everything that could have gone wrong that day went wrong and I thought the boys would be thinking what a terrible judge I was," Petrie said.

"But thankfully he's gone on to prove me right. He keeps taking the next step and he's doing now what I always thought he was capable of."