Having a racehorse in work is a costly exercise, even if you are a do-it-yourself trainer like Michelle Ritchie.

And that's one of the reasons why one of the best finishers in last month's Gold Coast Guineas will be going around in Sydney on Saturday instead taking his place among the Queensland winter carnival stars at Doomben.

As well as training Better Not Blue, Ritchie also owns the three-year-old who is one of the leading chances in the Your Local Greengrocer Handicap at Randwick.

Rejected by Hong Kong because of a minor joint issue, Better Not Blue ran the eye-catching race in the Gold Coast Guineas, coming from near last for a closing fourth to Nostradamus in the Group Three race.

There was enough merit in the run to suggest the three-year-old could win a decent race in Queensland but Ritchie said she could not afford to spend any more time away.

"I've still got to ride trackwork to make a living and it still works out to be quite expensive (having a horse) when you have got to pay all the costs yourself," Ritchie said.

"I didn't want to leave him up in Queensland without me up there and I had work to do."

Ritchie rides trackwork out of Kembla Grange and runs a small stable on an owner-trainer's licence with the help of her partner, well-known trainer Paul Murray.

Better Not Blue has figured in the money five times in seven starts with the best of his two wins coming on a rain-affected track at Warwick Farm in December.

And while the expected soggy going at Randwick won't be a foreign experience, Better Not Blue will be unfamiliar with his jockey.

Provincial jockey Robbie Brewer will miss riding Better Not Blue for the first time because he cannot make the 55kg.

Christian Reith takes over but Ritchie said getting a replacement wasn't as straightforward as she would have liked.

"No-one rang for the ride except for a few apprentices' managers," Ritchie said.

"I think everyone just assumed Robbie would probably be on him again."