ALBURY trainer Brett Cavanough's confidence in Another Rush must be pretty good.
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He will make a 750-kilometre trip from his home base to give his four-year-old another chance to qualify for the $400,000 Country Championships final when Muswellbrook Racing Club hosts its $50,000 Wild Card race (1280m) on Sunday.
Another Rush also ran last Friday at Albury, but that was what he needed ahead of his main target on Sunday.
"They're not turtles, they're race horses," Cavanough said when asked if it was a risk to back up Another Rush.
"A lot of people love to gallop their horses but they won't always race them. He's a big, gross horse and the extra run is what he needs.
"If they're fit and healthy, eating up and enjoying their racing then there's no reason not to run them."
Another Rush finished seventh at Wagga Wagga's Country Championships qualifier on February 27.
Despite six others running over the top of him in the final furlong Cavanough believed he could bounce back at Muswellbrook, even though it was set to be a tougher race than any of the other qualifiers with a host of top-rated country horses looking to get into the final.
"His run at Wagga was great. He was in the firing line for a long time and only just got run down near the end," Cavanough said.
"He's a pretty tough horse and he has a high cruising speed. I've backed him up before and he's won and if he qualifies it will be three runs in three weeks but he'll handle it."
Another Rush is by Xaardante, a Cavanough-trained horse and a runner-up in the Gold Coast Guineas.
"He's only lightly-raced and we haven't got to the bottom of this horse yet but I hope he can be as good as his dad," Cavanough said.
Meanwhile, Greg Bennett already had two runners in the $400,000 Country Championships final (1400m) on day one of The Championships at Royal Randwick on April 2, but believed Invienna could be his third.
At Scone's $100,000 qualifier on February 21, Clearly Innocent and All Summer Long finished first and second for Bennett with Invienna storming in fourth.
"It's not over for Invienna and that's my big priority now - getting her into the final," Bennett said.
"It was a massive run and she's quite capable of winning the final."
o Matt Jones has had a keen interest in horse racing since backing Jeune in the 1994 Melbourne Cup. After university he covered racing for Fairfax for five years before joining Racing NSW to write for its magazine and website. thechampionships.com.au.