Michelle Fleming is hoping it will be third time lucky for Manabar when she saddles up the 2020 Gunnedah Cup winner in Friday's $45,000 Elders Walcha Cup (1440m).
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The Kootingal trainer has taken the nine-year old up to the Cup Day meeting the last two years. The first he finished fourth in the Lightning Handicap and then last year he was sixth in the Cup.
"He didn't run a bad race there last year," Fleming reflected.
She believes the gelding is in a "lot better racing condition" this year.
"I think we've got him spot on," she said.
"He's nice and fit and ready to go."
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And he has "been racing well", although his last two starts he has been back in the field. But he "didn't like the track" at Gilgandra and Newcastle before that wasn't the right distance.
"Walcha's a good distance," she said.
"I think the short straight will suit him too up there."
He is also well-weighted (he will carry 55kg) but as Fleming pointed out there are "some handy horses in there".
One of the big unknowns is the track with the weather that has been around the last couple of days.
Speaking to The Leader on Thursday morning, Walcha secretary Kevin Ferrier said they had only had 13mls in the previous 48 hours and the track was "still a Good 3".
But "it was raining", which he admitted was "a worry".
"But the track's going to take a fair bit of rain because it hasn't been irrigated," he added.
The forecast is also for sunshine on Friday.
Fleming said a Soft 5 "would be nice" but that Manabar had raced up there before when "it has been heavy" and handled it.
She will be flying the local flag with the field dominated by coastal and hunter-trained horses. Former Uralla reinsman Mitch Faulkner does though have Deepwater Cup winner One Of The Kind entered while Moree trainer Peter Sinclair has Maslow and Ah Well.
She also has Sir Donald in the Tony Williams Machinery Lightning Handicap (1000m).
"He'll run well if the track is not too heavy," she said.
Ferrier said there was a real buzz around town ahead of the annual two-day carnival, with Friday's Cup meeting followed by a non-TAB 'community meeting' on Saturday.
"Everyone's always excited for the races. And we do our best," he said.
"We have busses running every hour to and from the race track tomorrow and Saturday, and start picking up from all the licensed establishments at 12pm."
He expressed is appreciation to the committee for all of the of their hard work getting everything ready having been restricted in his involvement due to recent surgery.
"The committee have worked really hard, have done an amazing job and they are to be commended for their job," he said.
The first race jumps at 1.35pm with the Cup at 5.20pm.
