The Dubbo horseman said his five-year-old earned his shot at taking on the big boys in town after finishing sixth behind Landlocked in the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup on May 1.

He was doing his best work late that day and jockey Mathew Cahill urged Hyde to step him up in distance if he could find a suitable race.

"I know it's a listed race but so was the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup and he didn't disgrace himself there," Hyde said.

"He got a few checks that day and he would have finished a lot closer had he got clear running. Matty said after the race that I shouldn't be frightened to find a 2400-metre race for him."

Despite some good recent form, Hyde is under no illusions as to how hard it will be to win on Saturday against the likes of top trainers that include Chris Waller and Joe Pride, who both have runners nominated.

But the chance to race for $100,000 doesn't come too often for Hyde. In fact, the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup was the first time he had prepared a horse to race in a black-type event.

"It's hard for us bush trainers to come to the city and take on the heavyweights, but I would have regretted it if I was sitting at home watching the race on TV without giving him a shot at it," he said.

"I might not get another chance to have a runner in a Listed race in Sydney. He hasn't run a bad race for me before and I don't think he's going to start now."

Cahill will retain the ride for a simple reason: "Matty knows the horse well so I've decided to stick with him.

"The horse doesn't like getting bustled up early in his races. He'll relax in the back half of the field then finish off his race," Hyde said.