MICK Cox knows the weight of home-town expectation will be on his shoulders on Monday when his stable star Atomic Blaze tries to back up his recent Coonamble Cup victory with success in the $40,000 Coona Bowlo Coonabarabran Cup (1600m).
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The seven-year-old slipped under the guard of punters when he scored a shock win at Coonamble a fortnight ago but this time around the gelding's rivals, as well as punters, will be keeping their eyes peeled for him.
Cox wasn't surprised when Atomic Blaze won the Coonamble feature, admitting he had expected the Ring Star x Trackdancer gelding to feature prominently.
"I knew he had it in him. You only had to look at his run at Tamworth before that race, the way he was hitting the line, to know he'd run well," Cox said.
"He'd been working super before that race as well. I ride him in trackwork and he felt great.
"He probably hasn't felt as strong leading into this race, and I wish he'd eaten a bit better, but I know he will run well.
"Everyone has been at me asking how he will run. They'd love to see him win the home-town Cup but it's not doing much for my nerves."
Despite holding a narrow margin over Private Taber in the Coonamble Cup, Atomic Blaze's rating was elevated by 13 points on a provisional basis.
It means the gelding will carry an extra two kilograms on Monday, in spite of Catherine Markwort's claim of 1.5kg.
And while Cox said he expected to rise just half-a-kilogram he knows his jockey will do the job again.
"Every time I've put her on and asked her to do something she's been pretty close to the mark with where she's had him," Cox said.
"At Coonamble she had to make a long, wide run on him but he can do that.
"On Monday we'll have to change the plans a little bit, she'll need to be patient because there's a long pull up the hill in the home straight."
An early market provided by AAP has Atomic Blaze as a $3.50 favourite for Monday's event, with Devilgate Road and Private Taber equal second favourites at $4.00.
In a compact market, Are You Sure is rated a $5.50 chance and Mossamine is $6.