Trainer Justin Stanley might be the only person in the Central West not crying out for more rain this weekend, with his in form gelding Quick Spin looking to avoid the wet while making the trip to Sydney on Saturday.
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Quick Spin, who was nominated and accepted for both the Highway Handicap at Royal Randwick and the Benchmark 58 Handicap in Dubbo on Sunday as a precaution against the recent wet conditions, now seems certain to race in the city this weekend.
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"Just in case of the weather, I just wanted cover both bases, but at the minute it looks like Sydney should be fine, that track is rated a soft seven or eight at the moment, but I think they'll go forward there," Stanley said.
Stanley has high expectations for the five year old gelding, who ran in third at Randwick in his last start and has shown good signs during work.
"I expect him to race really well, I see him finishing within the money there again, he's pulled up really well with his run down there recently," Stanley said.
"I'll give him a real good running chance, so long as it's a good tempo, he's a back-marker, if they get out and go steady, he'll have to really, really motor to get home, but I give him a real good chance."
While Quick Spin is unlikely to get a start in Dubbo this weekend, Stanley still has plenty of other chances he's looking to to shore up on Sunday.
Defies Logic and County Tipperary have both been put forward in the Dubbo and Wellington Maiden Plate in search of a first win, while The Reverend Demon will step up 200 metres in distance since his last start in Dubbo at the start of the month.
"The Reverend Demon was a good run last start, he's stepping up that couple hundred more, but I'd still give him a good chance, he's coming up really well that horse," Stanley said.
Cliodhna, who hasn't raced since moving to Stanley's stable from Victorian trainer Mitchell Beer's stable, will be more of a long-shot, but Stanley's confident she'll shape up alright if given the chance.
"She was an emergency, I didn't think she'd get a run, but she's been working well," Stanley said.
With a decent amount of his stable representing on the weekend, Stanley hasn't even cast a thought to the Country Championships, with earlier plans having fallen by the wayside and no prospects he's looking to challenge with this year.
"I won't have a runner this year, it's actually been very quiet, things just didn't quite come together, I had a couple of horses in mind early on, but things didn't quite work out, it's the sort of race where everything's got to work out right just to get there on the day, you've got to have that horse well in advance."
While Quick Spin won't be looking to head to the Country Championships, the Cindy Monaghan trained Mayaman will have eyes for the Coonamble qualifier if things go his way during the Highway Handicap.
