In mid-December last year Cindy Monaghan's Next Level produced an excellent run at Towac Park to go within a length of stunning a pretty hot Allandale Stud Cup field, defying his whopping $151 odds to run a gallant third.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He'll return to the Orange track for Saturday's $32,000 Buckley's Carpet Court Banjo Paterson Cup (1300 metres) and is expected to be at odds again considering the red-hot field, so Monaghan's hoping he can defy the market in even more spectacular fashion this time around.
There's reason to suggest he might too.
RELATED:
Although he misfired once after that minor placing he roared back to form at Parkes in late January in his last start, following a four-week freshen up.
He finished second that day at 16-to-one, being narrowly edged out by the Cecil Hodgson-trained A Martin Placepick, which was almost immediately instilled as a short-priced, pre-race favourite for Dubbo's Country Championships heat.
"His last start was really good, actually his last three or four runs have been pretty good," Monaghan said.
"It is a really strong field, it got big nominations and that's held up. There's more than a couple, there's chances across the field so I'm not going to say he's going to go out and win, but if he gets the right run he may well have a cheeky sight at odds."
This is Next Level's first real preparation under Monaghan's watch too.
Although that third finish at Towac Park was his 10th run since being shipped to Dubbo from former Orange trainer Gary Portelli's Warwick Farm stable his progress has been somewhat stifled.
"It is his first proper prep with us. He was running shorter but (regular hoop) Andrew Banks always said he felt like he wanted a bit more but every time we tried to take him out to 1300 or 1400 metres he seemed to get hurt," Monaghan said.
"But he's running well now and that third at Orange, when was at [151-to-one], we were really pleased with that because he ran the rails and [the winners] had all come from wide that day, the inside track must've been like quicksand or something."
The Dubbo trainer said even if her charge is caught on the rails again, which could happen being drawn in barrier three, she's not worried, with a firmer track expected at Towac Park on Saturday afternoon.
"He'll like the firmer track too," she said.
"There's some good horses inside and outside him and a few that like to get forward but he's got a good barrier so hopefully he'll sit four or five back in the middle and get the run of the race, hopefully it all goes to plan."
Banks will again be on Next Level on Saturday, with several of the runners Monaghan alluded to beign genuine chances to run, and run well, in Central Districts' Country Championships heat at Mudgee on Sunday, March 3 as well.
The likes of Cameron Crockett's Ori On Fire and Kingsbridge are both expected to be among the nominations as are Dean Mirfin's I Am Magnificent and I Am Capitan, with Saturday's 1300-metre cup set to be their final runs before that heat.
They're not the only stars among the Banjo Paterson Cup field, Dan McCarthy's Fast Cash is the top weight at 63kg and is a veteran that's claimed more than $300,000 in prizemoney over the years while Gayna Williams' George Two comes in with back-to-back wins under his belt.
The feature also features Next Level's fellow Dubbo horse California Fox, from the stables of Allan Gibson.
The Banjo Paterson Cup is the sixth and main event of Saturday's seven-race program at Towac Park and jumps at 4.46pm, with racing beginning at 1.41pm.
Gates open at Towac Park at noon and the afternoon is set to be a big one, with live music throughout the day and courtesy buses running as well.