Racing
Ipswich Friday: Wet to bring out Smart Action
A confidence boosting win at Ipswich is just what a lightly raced six-year-old needs.
Whether it be on the big stage of Melbourne Cup week or the littler one further afield, luck plays its part wherever the race is and whoever the horses are, too.
It is a somewhat frustrating preparation that Beaudesert trainer Michael Morrison hopes can be the buck up one of the 20 horses he trains needs in taking out the Racing and Sports Benchmark 70 Handicap (1700m) at Ipswich on Friday.
Smart Action is a six-year-old whose racing career began with Annabel Neasham when debuting as a four-year-old season and won his second start at Newcastle in October 2024.
Friday's run will be the gelded son of Smart Missile's 22nd start – three of those returning wins and another three placings.
"He's had a bit of a frustrating prep" Morrison said
"The initial target was the Murwillumbah Cup and his two runs into that were quite good and we were fairly confident that he would run well there but the track was pretty chopped up by the time we got to his race and he didn't quite appreciate it.
"He didn't travel in the run and pulled up poorly afterwards so the prep has gone a little off the rails since that.
"Tomorrow, we're trying to get a confidence building win on the board for him and this is a great opportunity for that with the drop in grade."
On a heavy rated Ipswich surface, Smart Action has raced in blinkers before but will see them reapplied for the first time since arriving with Morrison 12 months ago.
"Even though he's lightly raced, he's starting to feel his joints a little bit and the hard tracks have probably taken their toll as well to have something left late in the race.
"But with the rain that we've had about and with the sting out of the ground, that should be to his liking."
Smart Action is at $4.80 on the second line of betting with the Corey and Kylie Geran-trained Medical Autocrat the $3.20 favourite.
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