Morphettville beckons for project galloper Chief Little Rock

It's never a simple task to refine a horse that has previously been under the guidance of Irish racing luminary Aidan O'Brien.

However, this is precisely the undertaking for Ballarat trainer Patrick Kearney with Chief Little Rock, a galloper formerly owned by Lloyd and Nick Williams and with a prior connection to Anthony and Sam Freedman.

Kearney secured Chief Little Rock for $40,000 through an Inglis Digital Sale. The stayer is scheduled to compete in the Sportsbet Green Tick Handicap (2500m) on Saturday, marking his fourth start for the Ballarat-based trainer.

Kearney referred to Chief Little Rock as a 'project horse,' without immediate grand aspirations, although he expressed a desire to participate in the Tasmanian Summer Carnival next year.

"This preparation we're just working him out and spending time, finding his groove, and then next prep hopefully will be the making of him," Kearney shared.

"He'll probably go down to Tasmania for the Cups if he's showing enough ability to be able to do that.

"He does have the ability. He was always going to be a project to see if we could find it (form) and find the bottom of the horse.

"He was brought over here with higher expectations which he hasn't exceeded too yet.

"Hopefully we can get him right and eventually he can run in some of these nice races."

After being comfortably outpaced in his initial two outings for Kearney at Flemington, Chief Little Rock demonstrated improved form at Sandown on August 22, following a session of hurdle schooling.

"He's a tricky horse to ride," Kearney noted.

"He's very strong and doesn't know how to come back.

"He was a pacemaker over in Ireland for Aidan O'Brien and we're trying to do the complete opposite with him and get him to relax and chill out.

"He went so hard at Flemington the second time that I thought it would be best to give him a school over the hurdles to see it could bring him back a bit.

"He was excellent at it. It was good to see that as it is a possible back-up plan for the future if need be."

Chief Little Rock, a Group 3 winner in Ireland with three additional Stakes placings across Europe, has been assigned a weight of 62kg for Saturday's race.

Kearney indicated that claiming on the gelding would have been a viable option, but he has instead opted for the services of Jason Holder.

"We had the option to claim with the massive eight kilo weight difference," Kearney commented.

"But if I went over there and put an apprentice on that didn't really know him, it would be suicide, so going with the leading rider over there, is probably the best option.

"This preparation is all about the project and the planning and seeing where he is at and what he needs to do."

Check out the latest racing odds for Chief Little Rock's Morphettville run.