Noble Boy is all the rage heading into Sunday's Country Championships Wild Card event but the trainers of 13 hopes, including Coonamble's Cecil Hodgson, are gunning for the classy galloper.
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It was a shock when Noble Boy, the favourite for the overall Country Championships crown, missed out on qualifying through the heat at Goulburn.
He now heads to Muswellbrook in search of one of the final two tickets to the $500,000 event.
The Todd Blowes-trained Noble Boy was a $1.90 favourite on Friday while Hodgson's A Martin Placepick, which ran fourth in the Dubbo heat, was at $27.
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Hodgson may not have been getting too excited about a trip to Muswellbrook earlier in the week but he'll be there on Sunday.
The laid-back trainer insisted the gelding's owners were more keen than him to take part in the race and it appears they've got their way.
The six-year-old A Martin Placepick has drawn barrier two for the $50,000 race on Sunday with Daniel Northey top take the ride.
A Martin Placepick ran fourth in the Western Racing Association Qualifier at Dubbo.
"It was a good run at Dubbo and he pulled up very good. He did it tough in that race with 3kg more than every other horse," Hodgson told Racing NSW.
"He's been freshened up but he had a setback because we haven't been able to work him on the grass track, it's been closed, but he's done plenty of sand work.''
Noble Boy will go from wide out in barrier 14 with leading jockey and Dunedoo product Hugh Bowman to take the ride.
"He had a really solid gallop with Up Trumpz, a really handy horse of Joe Cleary's, at Queanbeyan (on Monday) and he handled him easily," Blowes said of his hope.
"I'm never overly confident, I just know the horse is well and his work has been outstanding. Hopefully they just run along a little bit more, that will help him.''
The Wild Card is at 5.05pm on Sunday.
The first two past the post will secure the final two spots in the field for the $500,000 Country Championships at Royal Randwick on April 6.
Dubbo trained duo Westlink and Sons Of Bourke, from the stables of Darren Hyde and Clint Lundholm respectively, have already secured spots in that race after running one-two in the heat at Dubbo on February 10.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
