New Zealand trainer Graeme Nicholson is used to criticism and won't be concerned if more salvos are fired his way over his decision to start Sir Time Keeper at Eagle Farm.The Queensland Derby hopeful will line up for his third start in as many weeks in Saturday's Listed Daybreak Lover Handicap (1400m).The three-year-old led and weakened at his only two Queensland starts to finish 10th to Metal Bender in the Group One Doomben Cup (2200m) on May 22 before running an improved race for fourth to Kut
New Zealand trainer Graeme Nicholson is used to criticism and won't be concerned if more salvos are fired his way over his decision to start Sir Time Keeper at Eagle Farm.
The Queensland Derby hopeful will line up for his third start in as many weeks in Saturday's Listed Daybreak Lover Handicap (1400m).
The three-year-old led and weakened at his only two Queensland starts to finish 10th to Metal Bender in the Group One Doomben Cup (2200m) on May 22 before running an improved race for fourth to Kutchinsky in the Group Three Grand Prix Stakes (2200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Sir Time Keeper was ridden by Chris Munce in the Doomben Cup and New Zealander David Walsh in the Grand Prix but will have a third rider when Craig Grylls takes over in the Daybreak Lover.
Walsh will make the trip back from New Zealand to ride Sir Time Keeper in the Group One Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday week.
Nicholson's unorthodox training methods have surprised many locals and have been widely criticised in his homeland.
"I'll take any criticism they want to give me," Nicholson said.
"I get heaps of criticism back home with Sir Slick. With him they've said he should have been retired by now and all that crap.
"They give me hell at home but I'm used to it and it doesn't worry me.
"I want to give Sir Time Keeper a feel of Eagle Farm before the Derby so why not give him a sprint."
Nicholson has adopted similar unorthodox methods with stablemate, multiple Group One winner Sir Slick.
Last winter in Brisbane, Sir Slick started six times in as many weeks culminating in his fifth to Scenic Shot in the Group Two Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm.
Along the way, the trainer paid a late entry fee to start Sir Slick in the Group One Doomben 10,000 in which he finished eighth to Apache Cat.
Nicholson believes Sir Time Keeper, who is on the fourth line of betting at $7.50 in Queensland Derby markets, is versatile enough to cope with the sharp drop back in distance to 1400 metres.
"They can say what they want about me but the horse is jumping out of his skin," he said.
"I took him to the beach again today and he loves it.
"It's about an hour's drive to the beach from where he's stabled and he works about three miles down and back along the beach.
"I've given him a lot of work and the beach makes him relax more."
Nicholson wants a firmer surface for Sir Time Keeper and is confident the son of Stravinsky will be competitive in the Daybreak Lover.
"It'll be good to get a firm surface and if he does he'll be competitive," he said.
"The track at Doomben (for the Grand Prix) was testing and had it been firm I don't think they would have got past him."