One of the country's best jockeys teamed up with one of the most exciting up-and-coming trainers in the game.
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It's nothing new for Tommy Berry and Annabel Neasham to combine but the surroundings will be very different this weekend.
Berry will ride Sibaaq for Neasham on Sunday in the $100,000 Wellington Cup (1700m).
Neasham won't be able to make the trip to the Central West from her Warwick Farm stables, she stated "I wish I could", but she'll be tuned in as Sibaaq aims to qualify for the $2 million Big Dance.
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The top two qualifiers in 25 selected country cups will be in the running for the $2 million feature at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day.
Wellington's cup is one of those qualifiers and that's why it has attracted the likes of Neasham, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Richard and Will Freedman, and even the Ballarat-based Archie Alexander.
"It's going to be great to have a runner there, particularly with the chance to qualify for the Big Dance," Neasham said.
"That's added to the quality of the field because there's a lot of people chasing these country cups now.
"It's massive. The Big Dance is a $2 million race at headquarters on cup day so it's an exciting day for owners."
Neasham couldn't think of a better way to qualify then by racing in the bush, as well.
"Personally, I love going to the country meetings. It's always a great atmosphere and there's always passionate crowds," she said.
Sibaaq is a relative newcomer to Neasham's stables, having had the first 13 starts of his career in Britain.
Since coming to Australia, the four-year-old won one trial and placed in another before finishing third on debut for Neasham at the Gold Coast on May 7.
"He ran really well," Neasham said.
Sibaaq opened a $6 chance for Sunday's cup and firmed into a $3.40 favourite by Friday afternoon.
The booking of Berry no doubt played a part in the decision-making of punters.
Fresh from a winning double at Hawkesbury on Tuesday, Berry will take the ride from gate 11 in Sunday's main event.
In a sign of the quality of Sunday's field, two of the final 12 are coming off last-start metro winners.
One of those, the Waterhouse and Bott-trained Major Artie, was a $4.80 chance early while stablemate So United was at $8.50 alongside Kristen Buchanan's Casino Mondial and Knight from the stables of Jason Attard and Lucy Keegan-Attard.
Reward Seeker will be the hometown hope after getting a start for Wellington-based trainer Michael Mulholland.
Mudgee's David Smith could also earn a start with his gelding The Scotsman one of the reserves after back-to-back wins in his past two starts.
The cup headlines Sunday's nine-race meeting and will jump at 3.35pm.
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