No-one is happier to see Jim Cassidy riding in top form than trainer Rick Worthington who will leg the champion jockey aboard Whitefriars in Friday night's Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley.The Salinger Stakes winner is third favourite to claim his second Group Two race but Worthington is under no illusions about the task ahead of the five-year-old against Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy and Ortensia.Whitefriars has drawn barrier eight in the 10-horse field for the 1200m scamper around Moonee Va
No-one is happier to see Jim Cassidy riding in top form than trainer Rick Worthington who will leg the champion jockey aboard Whitefriars in Friday night's Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley.
The Salinger Stakes winner is third favourite to claim his second Group Two race but Worthington is under no illusions about the task ahead of the five-year-old against Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy and Ortensia.
Whitefriars has drawn barrier eight in the 10-horse field for the 1200m scamper around Moonee Valley with favourite Typhoon Tracy and second elect Ortensia alongside each other in two and three respectively.
"There's nothing I can do about it, it's Jimmy's problem now and he will know what to do," Worthington said.
"It's a tough race but one we picked out early. It's a necessary part of his preparation.
"He is due to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday morning. I kept him at home in Sydney deliberately so I could oversee his work and I hope the heat here doesn't affect him but he's a good traveller."
Whitefriars goes into the race off a closing second under 59.5kg to Pinwheel in the Canterbury Classic (1100m) on January 14 which was his first start since his third in the Winterbottom Stakes in Perth at the end of November.
Cassidy, who turned 48 last week, partnered Whitefriars to his Salinger win but missed the Perth trip due to a suspension for a marijuana offence.
He served two months and was back aboard in the the Canterbury Classic and has since shown his class with multiple winners over the past two weeks.
Whitefriars competed in the top echelon as a three-year-old and raced well without winning.
As a spring four-year-old his form was mixed and early last year Worthington and his fellow owners made the tough decision to geld the son of Arena.
He hit his straps in the spring and Worthington has high hopes for the autumn.
"The plan is to run in the CF Orr after the Australia Stakes," he said.
"If he shows he runs a strong 1400 metres in the Orr we have many options. He's entered for the Doncaster (1600m) but there are other possibilities.
"If he shows me he's really just a sprinter there are races back in Sydney and there's also the big sprints in Brisbane later on.
"There are plenty of options for him."