That might not quite be the case now but there's still a real buzz around his Dubbo stables as a number of Nestor's best gallopers approach their return to racing.

Nestor had planned on giving his leading Kosciuszko hope Cardiff a first start this preparation at Kembla Grange on Saturday but a slight temperature earlier in the week has caused a delay to his build-up.

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Artie's Aura and Clay Pan Boogie also won't make the trip to the Illawarra despite initially being nominated for a Highway event but Nestor will still be in action this weekend.

Former Country Championships finalist and Country Classic winner Fast Talking is back from a spell and will contest Sunday's Black Nugget Winter Cup at Mudgee before targeting the $100,000 Dubbo Gold Cup while Music Miss will race at Gilgandra.

It not be the busy weekend he had initially thought, but Nestor isn't taking any chances with Cardiff as he hopes to land a spot in October's $1.3 million Kosciuszko.

"Put it this way, if it was any other horse I would have started him but with what's on the line I couldn't afford for a below par run with him," Nestor said of Cardiff.

"That could have been detrimental to his chances of getting a slot. I won't start the horse until he's 100 per cent."

Cardiff returned from a spell with an impressive trial win at Dubbo on August 8 and he'll now have another trial at Wellington on September 7 before contesting a midweek benchmark 78 event over 1100m at Canterbury on September 22.

Cardiff could already have a spot in the Kosciuszko, the world's richest race for country-trained horses, by then as tickets for a slot in the race are drawn on September 9.

"We've had the odd call from people saying if they got a ticket they'd definitely look at home so there's a bit of interest floating around," Nestor said,

"I haven't had a horse involved in the race yet so I'm quite exited and hoping to get one in."

Cardiff is currently a $15 chance for Kosciuszko while stablemate Jailbreak is at $51.

Nestor is also pleased with Jailbreak's progress and he's roughly three weeks away from a trial and could potentially head into the Kosciuszko first-up given his strong first-up record.

There's plenty of races for the Nestor team between now and the October 16 Kosciuszko though.

After Music Miss races at Gilgandra on Saturday, Fast Talking will step out in Sunday's Mudgee feature.

Fast Talking hasn't raced since an unlucky fourth in March's Wellington Cup and will use Sunday as a springboard into the $100,000 Dubbo Gold Cup on September 12.

"He trialled well the other day and he's got a bit of zest back in his legs, the old boy. I rode him this morning [Thursday] and he feels good," Nestor said.

"I expect he'll be hard enough to beat and he probably needs a win he's at the point now where he finds the right race first-up and I'd be disappointed if he didn't finish in the top two."

Fast Talking and Cardiff are among a group of Nestor's best who will be back on the track in coming weeks.

"I was only looking around this morning and there's Activation, Daredevil, Ostracised, Lonely Power, Vital Verse," Nestor said.

"We've got a few of the big ones back in now so it's really, really starting to ramp up heading into the spring and summer time.

"It's coming into a good time of year. The tracks are starting to get a little better and the racing is starting to ramp up a bit."

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