Isobel Ross and Amanda Turnbull ticked a major event off their bucket list when winning the Red Ochre Mares Classic Final last year and on Friday night they'll be back at Dubbo Paceway to defend their crown.
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The Bathurst-based pair combined to win the Group 3 feature with Gotta Party Doll last year and on Friday night Ross will drive Sweet Heaven for Turnbull in the main event at the annual Carnival of Cups meeting.
Sweet Heaven won the latter of the two heats a week ago and will be one of two Turnbull hopes in Friday's final alongside Fasika, who the leading trainer-driver will pilot herself.
"We're there to win it," Ross said.
"It's a $30,000 race and I know last year it was a race Amanda had always wanted to win and we did that for her. It would be really cool to win again."
Ross has worked closely with Turnbull for roughly four years and there's been a huge amount of highlights during that time.
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Last year's Red Ochre victory was the second Group 3 win for Ross while there's been countless feature wins for Turnbull and two starts in the Inter Dominion final in that time.
The most recent of those was less than a week ago, when Turnbull contested the biggest race in Australasia with Bundoran.
"It's just a pleasure to work with Amanda and all these quality horses she has," Ross added.
The pair will be out to create another highlight on Friday.
Sweet Heaven will push forward again after drawing gate three while things are a little trickier for Fasika after landing gate seven in the back-row.
Turnbull drove both chances in the heats and quickly found the lead with Sweet Heaven after battling Gabbys Reason for the front early.
The same battle is expected in the final after Gabbys Reason drew gate one.
"I talked to Amanda and she said we'll push forward as hard as we can with her," Ross said of Sweet Heaven.
"The tougher you drive her, the more she likes it so she's my kind of mare. We're happy to do it tough.
"She's got a lot of attitude but we don't mind mares with a lot of attitude. It means they're happy and she just gallops around at home and is a pleasure to have around."
Sweet Heaven was alongside fellow heat winner Sporty Dancer, trained at Leeton by Todd Prest, at $5 in the market on Thursday afternoon while Bernie Hewitt's Ballerini ($3.60) held early favouritism from Fasika ($4.80).
Hewitt will drive Ballerini from gate six while his others hopes, Iamajoyride and Cala Jane, will be driven by Jason Hewitt and Dennis Picker respectively..
The lone hometown hope in the final is Yarraman Bella.
Trained locally by Lloyd Sutton and to again be driven by his son, James, Yarraman Bella heads into the final having followed his impressive Gilgandra Cup win by running fifth behind Sporty Dancer in the heats.
Yarraman Bella will start from gate five in the final.
The final is at 8.22pm.
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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.
