Trainer Barry Baldwin has conceded a soft gallop and a track hoodoo have him a little worried ahead of Burdekin Blue's bid to claim the Group Three George Moore Stakes at Doomben on Saturday.Burdekin Blues jumped a marker while working at Doomben on Tuesday morning which prevented jockey Shane Scriven from giving the five-year-old a harder workout in preparation for the 1200-metre feature."I would have liked him to have a harder gallop on Tuesday but he's still in good order," Baldwin said."For
Trainer Barry Baldwin has conceded a soft gallop and a track hoodoo have him a little worried ahead of Burdekin Blue's bid to claim the Group Three George Moore Stakes at Doomben on Saturday.
Burdekin Blues jumped a marker while working at Doomben on Tuesday morning which prevented jockey Shane Scriven from giving the five-year-old a harder workout in preparation for the 1200-metre feature.
"I would have liked him to have a harder gallop on Tuesday but he's still in good order," Baldwin said.
"For some reason he jumped one of the markers while working and Shane wasn't able to let him run along.
"He didn't go anywhere near as fast as I would have liked."
Scriven has retained the ride on Burdekin Blues after being reunited with him in Melbourne when the pair easily won the Listed Grazia Style (1100m) at Flemington on November 5.
Burdekin Blues will be freshened after the George Moore Stakes to run in the Bat Out Of Hell (900m) at the Gold Coast on January 2 before heading back to Melbourne for the Group One Lightning Stakes at Flemington and Group One Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield during the autumn.
Baldwin has no answer as to why Burdekin Blues has never won from three attempts at Doomben.
"Doomben is the only track he's been on where he hasn't won and I'm not sure why," he said.
Burdekin Blues has an awkward barrier 10 to contend with but Baldwin is confident it won't be a disadvantage.
"I was worried what alley he'd get before the draw but it's not too bad now that Black Prince has drawn out wider in 15," he said.
Black Prince and Burdekin Blues have gone head-to-head once before in the Star Kingdom Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill in March.
The pair jousted for the lead before the Sydney sprinter eventually shook off Burdekin Blues, only to be nabbed by backmarker The Jackal in the final bounds.
The Jackal's trainer Paul St Vincent is hoping the speedsters will adopt similar tactics on Saturday to bring themselves undone.
St Vincent has likened the George Moore Stakes to the Ramornie Handicap and expects the race to be run at a frantic pace.
The Jackal produced an eye-catching run last start to finish sixth, only a length behind the winner Black Prince, over 1200 metres at Eagle Farm on November 21.
The Jackal also has a Doomben hoodoo to shrug off having failed to win in five attempts at the track.
His last Doomben run was a sixth to Apache Cat in the Group One Doomben 10,000 last year.
"The race should be run very quickly," St Vincent said.
"At Doomben, they don't seem to stop and start like they do at Eagle Farm so that should suit him better.
"If the pace is on fully, that's what he wants. I liken this race a bit to a Ramornie and he's had two starts in those for two wins."
St Vincent kept The Jackal in Brisbane following his last run and is likely to do the same for his next assignment in the Listed Doomben Stakes (1350m) on December 19.