Trainer Matthew Dunn is hoping Care To Think’s class will compensate for his lack of fitness when he lines up for his first run for almost six months in the Group 3 $200,000 George Moore Stakes (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday.

Care To Think, above, is one of the main chances in the George Moore Stakes at Doomben. Photo by Steve Hart.

Care To Think, above, is one of the main chances in the George Moore Stakes at Doomben. Photo by Steve Hart.

Care To Think hasn’t raced since finishing fourteenth to Santa Ana Lane in the Group 1 $1.5m Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) at Doomben on June 9 and will head into the George Moore Stakes on the back of a third placing in a 1000m Doomben barrier trial on November 20.

“I think he will run well. His effort to run third in a trial at Doomben last week was OK and he has worked well this week,” Dunn told AAP.

“But I think he might need the run to bring him to his very top. I think he has a bit on these in class and hopefully it will be enough.”

Dunn had Care To Think up and ready to run in the inaugural running of the $1.3m The Kosciouszko (1200m) at Randwick on October 13 but had to cancel those plans when the five year old was detected with a high temperature and was sent back to the paddock.

Dunn said that Care To Think will benefit greatly from his run in the George Moore Stakes and he will use it to monitor his fitness as he strives to score back to back wins in the $1m Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 12.

Care To Think hasn’t won from four race starts since collecting the major prize in the 2018 Magic Millions Cup but did finish second at his next outing in the Group 3 $150,000 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Randwick on March 3.

The So You Think gelding had three unplaced runs at Doomben during the 2018 Brisbane Winter Carnival and prior to finishing down the track in the Stradbroke Handicap was sixth in the Group 1 $700,000 Kirin Doomben 10,000 (1200m) followed by a seventh in the Group 1 $700,000 Altus Traffic Kingsford-Smith Cup (1350m).

Ryan Maloney will be having his first ride on Care To Think who has drawn the rails in the George Moore Stakes field that has been reduced to eight runners following the early scratching of the Looks Like Elvis who will run in the BenchMark 85 Handicap (1200m) earlier in the day.

Early betting for the George Moore Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au has Care To Think sharing the second line of betting at $4.40 with Toby Edmonds trained Tyzone while the New South Wales visitor Victorem sits at the top of the market order at $2.90

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.