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A MASSIVE impost of 66.5kg and the extreme outside gate won't stop Coonabarabran trainer Mick Cox from starting stable star Atomic Blaze at Dubbo on Sunday.
Fields for the six-race program, transferred from its original Saturday date to avoid a clash with Tottenham Picnics, were released yesterday morning with the Coonamble Cup winner to clash with a handy field in the Milestone Hotel Benchmark 55 Handicap (1100m).
"The barrier (17) doesn't bother me because he'll be last after 50m anyway. He's the type of horse that always goes back in his races," Cox said. "The weight did worry me a little bit but I had a couple of problems with him after his first-up run at Dubbo and he's pretty fresh so I didn't want to go to a 1300m or 1400m race with him, and there's no other races available."
While Atomic Blaze has a big weight to contend with, so too do some of his main rivals.
Sharon Jeffries' handy sprinter Poker Star was given 64kg and Sarona Downs, trained at Goulburn by Allan McRae, was allotted 63kg.
However, both trainers elected to claim, with Eleanor Webster-Hawes taking two kilograms off Poker Star and Jacob Gilchrist's four-kilogram allowance bringing Sarona Downs back to 59kg.
Senior rider Catherine Newcombe (formerly Markwort), who returned to race riding recently after a broken foot, will ride Atomic Blaze.
"Cat knows the horse well and she has been great to me over the years so I was happy to put her back on him," Cox said.
"I did think about claiming but Cat knows how to ride him, the horse runs for her and she's fresh into a comeback so it was the right thing to do to put her on board.
"Given the problems I've had with him after Dubbo (a fast-finishing fourth behind Landuncan) I don't get too far ahead of myself but if he stays healthy I'd like to go to the Trangie Cup and then maybe the Wellington Cup over the Boot carnival."
Sunday's six-race card will be the last meeting held by the Dubbo club prior to it hosting a heat of the Country Championships on Sunday, March 22.
The first event on Sunday will be run at 12.33pm with the last scheduled for 3.36pm.