Having a versatile horse than can adapt to any situation always provides drivers with that little bit more confidence heading into a race.
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Should the plan change or the race not be run as expected, the horse can still manage to find a winning position.
That's how things stand for Tom Pay and Bid For Stardom heading into Saturday night's Joe Shaloub Gilgandra Windmill Series Final (2120m) at Dubbo Paceway.
Trained locally by Tom's grandfather, Brett, Bid For Stardom is expected to start as favourite in Saturday night's feature event after scoring four wins in his past six starts.
Tom wasn't in the gig last start when Bid For Stardom ran third at West Wyalong, but he was the driver when there was back-to-back wins at Bathurst and Parkes prior to that.
"He's got a little bit of everything," the young driver said.
"He can do it tough but he's also got speed to back it up and that's what you need these days for a good horse. He's no champion but he's definitely a nice horse.
"At Bathurst he sat off speed and came with a run and was too good for them and at Parkes I used him mid-race to get to the front and that was a tough run so he does have a little bit of everything."
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The annual Gilgandra meeting has quickly become a special one for the Dubbo Harness Racing Club and a number of feature events will be run again on Saturday.
The Gilgandra Windmill Series Final and the Gilgandra Cup are the biggest of the night, and the latter has been a target for Bid For Stardom for some time.
"Pop has set this race for him for about a month now. He hasn't had a run for about three weeks and this race has been set for him so he'll be primed and ready to go," Tom said.
"Hopefully there's a bit of a crowd. It's always a good crowd at Dubbo trots but I don't know how the weather will play out.
"But if it's a good night hopefully there will be a few there."
The rain around the region is expected to continue in the coming days.
Bid For Stardom will start from gate eight in the back row on Saturday night while another local hope could be the biggest threat to the Pay team.
Yarraman Bella, trained by Lloyd Sutton and driven by James Sutton, will start from gate three and is expected to move forward after winning last start at Blayney.
"We'll probably just see how it unfolds from the back," Tom said.
Bid For Stardom looks the pick of Pay's five drives on the night but the Monica Betts-trained Delightful Rainbow could be one to watch in the night's third event after scoring her first win last start at Parkes.
In the Windmill Series Final the Rue connection shapes as the one to beat as father-and-son, trainer-driver team of Ken and Mat will combine with last-start winner The Runnin Kind.
The Runnin Kind will start on the outside of the back row but won by almost 30m last time out at Parkes.
Racing starts 6.04pm on Saturday.
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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.
