Country Championships final: Cody Morgan-trained Talbragar finishes second

As soon as jockey James McDonald dismounted after riding Talbragar to a second-place finish, he made his thoughts clear to the Tamworth trainer.

"James came in yesterday and said 'Swap the barriers and you swap the results'," Morgan said.

"It would've been nice to win, but ... he drew barrier 13 and was caught three wide the whole way."

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The five-year-old gelding was a "lovely horse", McDonald told Racing NSW.

"Beautifully prepared and ran its heart out."

But it finished two lengths behind the Brett Robb-trained Sizzle Minizzle, who drew barrier four and was well-ridden by Sam Clipperton.

Nonetheless, it was a landmark day for Morgan, who has had five prior runners in Country Championships finals and never before claimed a top three finish.

"I was very happy," Morgan said.

"We've done no good up to this point, so we're slowly getting closer ... he was very brave to fight on and run second."

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