In his guise as a curator, and for all concerned, he does not want the track to deteriorate into a bog but using his trainer's hat, he certainly will not mind a heavy racing surface for Grass Cutter.

Grass Cutter is down to contest the Chill Rite Benchmark 55 Hcp (1220m) with champion bush hoop Greg Ryan in the saddle.

The lightly-raced four-year-old has shown a liking for rain-affected surfaces with two wins and two placings from five starts on soft tracks but has never encountered a heavy track.

That is the least of Cooper's worries.

"He'll improve lengths again on a heavy track. He absolutely loves it wet," a confident Cooper said. "He's worked on heavy tracks and goes up another gear."

By Snippetson, a noted sire of mudlarks, out of the Encosta de Lago mare El Chickie, Grass Cutter is bred and raced by Castle Hill-based clients Paul Aspros and Bill Fotopoulos.

The gelding is coming off a last start impressive 3.8 length win in a Benchmark 55 event at Narromine on May 25, when he burst right away over the final stages.

"He pulled up great," Cooper added. "He missed a run when this meeting was deferred (June 19) but I've just kept him ticking over nicely.

"He hasn't run for 31 days. It's been hard to find the right race for him."

Grass Cutter has come a long way from his early days as a racehorse.

As a young horse Grass Cutter was down to barrier trial at Narromine when he went berserk and demolished barriers.

"We had to take him back and re-educate him," Cooper revealed. "He can still be touchy in the barriers. I used the barrier blanket for a while but it's off now.

"He's a horse that has always shown ability but he's still learning, learning mentally. He's probably six months behind. When he catches up and matures I think he'll turn into a half-decent horse."

Prior to his Narromine win Grass Cutter disappointed when finishing down the track at Parkes on May 17.

"The track was too firm. He didn't handle it," Cooper suggested.

"He's got good ability. Hopefully that comes together with age and maturity."