Federal Morgan chases first feature at Johnstone’s home track

By Isaac Murphy

Former New South Wales chaser Federal Morgan came to Darren Johnstone with some fair raps on him, but the dual Wentworth Park winner has exceeded expectations since joining the red-hot kennel.

He has fast-tracked his way to be one of Queensland’s most exciting pups, something he’ll be keen to live up to from box one in Saturday night’s Ipswich Young Guns final.

Since arriving in May, the dog’s list of accomplishments include multiple sub 25-second 431-metre runs at Ipswich, second in the Listed Thunder final at Albion Park, and fourth in the Group 1 Brisbane Cup final.

On the back of those feats, Johnstone is convinced he’s got what it takes to be a regular 520 metre star.

“After running 29.79 behind Hooked On Scotch in his heat of the Brisbane Cup, I thought we’ve got to concentrate on the five hundred metres now,” Johnstone said.

“He then ran well again in the final, so the question was what next and that was the Ipswich Young Guns.”

“He hadn’t started over the 520 at Ipswich and ideally I would have liked to have got him a 500 before the heats, but without one available we settled for the 431 start and he came out and went 24.66 to match what he ran first time over the distance, so I knew he was still switched on.

“I was hoping for a 30.30 performance in his heat and he went 30.32, which I was very happy with and I think he can get away a bit better this week - he’s in a good spot.”

Oh Mickey rightfully grabbed the headlines last week with his near track record effort, but greyhound racing is a game of inches and Johnstone knows the race is not a foregone conclusion.

“I think there were five dogs that were within four hundredths of a second to the first mark in the heats, so there’s plenty of competition and Oh Mickey will have to overcome to lead,” he said.

“I think the two dog Flying Jet will play a big part in the outcome, he went with Oh Mickey early last week and draws inside him this week and if he can just keep him out a little bit that’d help us a lot.

“We were able to beat Oh Mickey to the first corner when drawn box six to his box seven in the Brisbane Cup Final, I don’t see any reason we can’t do it again especially from box one to his box three at Ipswich.”

Federal Morgan’s whirlwind campaign only started two months ago and there’s still plenty Johnstone wants to do with the dog before he finds his absolute best, something he should get a little closer to this week.

“My dog has only seen Ipswich once over the five hundred in race conditions and he’s had one trial, I expect him to finish a little stronger than he did last week,” Johnstone said.

“He can’t run 30 dead, but I think he can get down to 30.20 and if we run that time and get beaten hats off.

“With the margins so tight in that all-important run to the first turn we’re certainly happy to have the cherry, there’s going to be plenty of pressure but if we can hold the fence it takes us a long way.”

Johnstone has enjoyed a breakout year in only his third full season of training and has taken a lot of pride in getting the best out of Federal Morgan for his owner.

“He came up here with plenty of ability, I knew I was getting a good dog but what he’s done has exceeded anything I could’ve asked for,” he said.

“The owner is ecstatic and openly admits he’s going better since he’s been with me than he ever was in New South Wales and that’s really important for us as a kennel to build a reputation that we can get the best out of dogs.

“I’ve done a few things differently, probably the most significant was stripping a bit of weight off him, but I’ve got to know him pretty quickly and am very selective with his races.

“The next step is to go out and win a race like the Ipswich Young Guns.”

Johnstone is leading the male training premiership at Ipswich and would love to get his first feature win at the track, but had also carefully plotted Federal Morgan’s path forward.

“I consider Ipswich my home track, that’s where I do the majority of my racing and Federal Morgan has shown he’s more than comfortable racing there - it’d be pretty fitting to win his first feature there,” he said.

“Minus the three Victorian dogs, this Young Guns is not too far below the Group 1 Brisbane Cup - we showed we could compete there, so we hope the form carries over.

“After this we’ll be headed back to Albion for the Queensland Sprint Championships and depending on how he’s going we might look at heading up for a go at the Townsville Cup.”