When the reigning Country Championships heat winner for the region arrives at your stable, there's a certain amount of pressure that comes with it.
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Clint Lundholm had been feeling that a little in recent weeks after he acquired the talented Activation from the now defunct Kody Nestor team.
The five-year-old gelding was still eligible for this year's Country Championships so hopes were high back-to-back Western Districts heat wins could be recorded.
Things started a little slow for Lundholm - Activation failed to run better than seventh in three starts after a spell - but on Monday at Dubbo Turf Club there was exciting signs as the five-year-old scored an eye-catching win in an open class event.
The win came as a relief for Lundholm and delighted jockey Mathew Cahill, who was on Activation's back for the first time.
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Cahill had seen Activation's class firsthand last year when he finished second behind the gelding with Wild Rocket in the $150,000 qualifier.
"He has to be (a chance). He was quite impressive then," Cahill told Sky Thoroughbred Central after the win.
"He traveled nice. His last couple of runs haven't been as good but he was dynamite today.
"He got the front easy, I was amazed by the turn of foot he showed. He'd be top three in the championships off that run."
Activation turned out at his home track after a 12th-placded finish in a Highway event at Randwick and Lundholm admitted that result was a bit of "a deflater" for he and the team.
He was down in the weights again on Monday and that made a difference, as Activation carried 7.5kg less than runner-up Westlink.
Westlink, also a former Country Championships finalist, was a gallant runner-up with 62.5kg on his back and the performance after a win in the Cowra Japan Cup last time out proves he's getting back towards his best for trainer Darren Hyde.
Activation wasn't Lundholm's only winner on Monday.
Smooth Esprit delivered again for the Dubbo trainer and the Country Championships is also a possible target for that five-year-old.
He's put two nice races together now and they've pretty effortless.
- Clint Lundholm on Smooth Esprit
The one question mark for Smooth Esprit is the distance, as the Western Districts heat will be run over 1400m while he was a comfortable winner in a 1600m event on Monday.
Winning jockey Ashley Morgan admitted if he was training the Richard Jackson-owned hope he'd be tempted to keep him going over longer distances, but the Country Championships is a real carrot dangling in front of Lundholm.
"He's an impressive horse, isn't he?" Lundholm said after Smooth Esprit's win.
"Jacko has always said he'd like to target the Country Championships with him so he's going to have to try to step back to the 1400m now.
"But he's put two nice races together now and they've pretty effortless."
The addition of the blinkers has made a real difference for Smooth Esprit, who has scored back-to-back wins since making the move from the stables of owner-trainer Jackson.
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