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Trainer Kris Lees will take no risks with Stradbroke Handicap favourite Clearly Innocent in the lead-up to the $1.5 million feature at Doomben on Saturday.

The brilliant last start winner of the Kingsford-Smith Cup winner at Eagle Farm will stay at his Gold Coast base until he is floated to Brisbane for the G1 sprint after Lees ruled out giving Clearly Innocent a gallop on the Doomben track.

The Stradbroke has been transferred to Doomben because of Eagle Farm’s widely criticised surface but Lees is happy for his sprinter to take on the 1350m course sight unseen.

“He is pretty fit and I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on him,” Lees said.

“I won’t be doing a lot with him. He’ll do a bit on Wednesday morning at the Gold Coast and that will be it.

“Clearly Innocent came through his last race really well and I’m very happy with him.”

A winner of nine of his 15 starts, Clearly Innocent (Hugh Bowman) will carry the topweight of 57kg in the Stradbroke as weights will be 1.5kg when the final field is declared on Wednesday.

Only 27 horses including Kingsford Smith Cup placegetters Jungle Edge and Counterattack remain in Queensland’s feature sprint but with the move to Doomben the final line-up will be limited to 16.

Clearly Innocent is a firming favourite for the Stradbroke, even allowing for the fact he will be racing on a tighter circuit than his recent victories on the spacious Scone and Eagle Farm tracks.

Lees has advised that a number of his good good fillies and mares have left his stable after being sold at the National Sale at the Gold Coast last week.

Lees has taken over the preparation of Group 2 winner Nurse Kitchen, purchased for $1.7 million by China Horse Club at the Gold Coast, but he has lost Awasita, Brook Road, Samantha Miss’s half-sister Lady Iveagh, Riapinka, Oh So Assertive and Fashion Sniptz after they were sold as breeding prospects.

Lees has also taken over the preparation of the Gooree Stud-owned Launch Code, a lightly-raced Smart Missile three-year-old who scored first-up at Warwick Farm last Wednesday, from James Cummings.

Gooree is transferring its horses to new trainers ahead of Cummings taking up his new role as head trainer for Godolphin Australia.