Less than seven days ago Kody Nestor had everything in place ahead of his three-pronged attack on the $150,000 Western Districts Country Championships Qualifier at Coonamble.

But on Sunday night and Monday morning the Dubbo trainer was scrambling to find replacement jockeys after the feature event was postponed.

Rain ruined any chance of the qualifier being run on Sunday, as surface water on the Coonamble track resulted in the meeting being abandoned after just the first two events.

The remaining seven races, including the Country Championships feature, will be run at Coonamble on Tuesday.

READ ALSO:

- City tune-up set to have Old Harbour 'tougher' for $500,000 final

- 'Unlucky' Western sides dealt a hammer blow and miss out on finals

- Newtown Tigers through to grand final after low-scoring affair

The problem for Nestor is jockeys Grant Buckley and James Innes Jnr - who were booked to ride Activation and Eva's Deel respectively in the qualifier - were already locked in to race at Hawkesbury that day.

It took some organising but on Monday afternoon it was confirmed Ben Looker would replace Buckley while Mikayla Weir will take the ride on Eva's Deel.

Anthony Cavallo will remain the saddle of Nestor's other hope in the race, $1.90 favourite Jailbreak.

"That's been the hardest part," Nestor said of the jockey changes.

"Both boys elected to ride at Hawkesbury but I was lucky enough to get Benny Looker and coax him to come down from Port Macquarie.

"He'll suit Activation and Mikayla Weir with Eva's Deel, we don't lose much there.

"I'm really happy with them."

Looker is something of a coup for Nestor, with the hoop having ridden Victorem to victory in the 2018 Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick.

Nestor wasn't the only one forced to make a change.

Apprentice Kath Bell-Pitomac, who won the Central Districts Qualifier with Old Harbour, is unavailable on Tuesday and won't be in the saddle of Sue's Girlfriend in the $150,000 heat.

Narromine trainer Wayne Collison has secured the services of Jake Pracey-Holmes for the ride on his four-year-old mare.

Nestor admitted "it wasn't ideal" to have the race delayed for 48 hours but added his three horses were all in fine form ahead of Tuesday.

"There'll be no excuses," he said.

The leading trainer added he would consider sending Jailbreak to the Wild Card event at Muswellbrook on Sunday should he miss out on a top two finish on Tuesday.

The Wild Card is the last chance to secure a spot in the $500,000 final on April 3 and while it would be a short back-up, Nestor felt Jailbreak would be up to it.

Activation and Eva's Deel would be unlikely to go to Muswellbrook should they not be in the first two past the post at Coonamble.

Nestor added he felt for the Coonamble Jockey Club, which will now miss out on the huge crowd that was expected on Sunday.

"It's more a shame for the club," he said.

"They've put in a lot of hard work, time, and effort. There was a lot of devastated faces up there when it was called off so my heart goes out to them."

There will be free entry at the rescheduled Coonamble meeting on Tuesday.

The first of seven races jumps at 1.35pm on Tuesday, with the qualifier at 4.45pm.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: