The glitz and glamour of Flemington are a far cry from the surroundings of Trangie Jockey Club.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the Brett Thompson-trained Slate On Edge will find himself at the latter on Saturday, just a few short years after a win at the Melbourne track on Crown Oaks Day.
Slate On Edge will jump from barrier eight in Saturday’s Trangie Cup.
Thompson’s star has also won at Moonee Valley but in recent times has struggled for form and trainer Brett Thompson has found it hard to find a race for highly-rated gelding.
Slate On Edge has a benchmark rating of 85 and his nearest competitor at Trangie on Saturday is the Bruce Parker-trained Double Halo, with a rating of 56.
Due to that, Thompson’s hope has been handed a hefty 64.5kg for the Cup while every other horse in the field of nine will carry 54kg.
The weight on Slate On Edge is offset somewhat by the booking of Alena Skerritt.
The apprentice jockey, who has been doing a large amount of riding for Dubbo trainer Garry Lunn, has a claim of 1.5kg.
Saturday marks Slate On Edge’s second start this preparation after he ran fourth in a field of five at Coonamble earlier this month.
He hasn’t won since November of 2015, the day he took out a $100,000 Subzero Challenge race for grey horses.
Double Halo is one of the more popular horses on the western circuit, the 10-year-old veteran trained by Gilgandra’s Parker always bring a strong crowd with him to the track.
Double Halo is coming off a win in the Tottenham Cup.
Dubbo trainers Frank Hayes and Connie Greig will be in action in the feature.
Frank Hayes will have Zaveena going from barrier four with apprentice Kaylee Kirkwood in the saddle.
The mare has one placing in five starts this preparation while Greig’s Felicette comes into the event having finished seventh behind Double Halo at Tottenham.
Felicette will jump from barrier one with Anthony Cavallo taking the ride.
The meeting starts at 1.40pm with the Trangie Cup the sixth and final event on the card at 5pm.