Dubbo trainer Brett Robb is delighted with Sizzle Minizzle's progress as the four-year-old bids to become the second horse to complete a Country Championships-Kosciuszko double.
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Now the horse just has to get a start in The Kosciuszko to make that possible.
And based on the zing Sizzle Minizzle showed against high-quality opponents in a recent barrier trial over 1000 metres at Tamworth, on top of his career record in races, the four-year-old is great value at $26 with TAB Fixed Odds for the $2 million race.
Art Cadeau won both the Country Championships final and The Kosciuszko in the autumn and spring of 2021 for Shoalhaven Heads trainer Terry Robinson.
"I don't know how he's $26," Sizzle Minizzle's trainer Brett Robb said.
"He won the Country Championships final as a three-year-old and he was still so green back then as well. Now he's come back bigger and stronger after a spell and he knows what it's all about. He's matured."
Robb will either give the horse one start in a race ahead of The Kosciusko, which will be run over 1200 metres at Randwick on October 14, or go first-up into the event.
His decision will be influenced by whether the horse is picked up by a slot-holder early on.
Members of the public can buy $5 tickets in the slot draw for The Kosciuszko via the TAB App or from their local pub, club or TAB agency, or at race meetings.
The 14 winning slot-holders will be drawn on September 8 and they can then negotiate an agreement on a prizemoney share with the connections of a NSW country-trained or ACT-trained galloper and have that horse run for them.
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Robb plans to give Sizzle Minizzle an exhibition gallop during the Dubbo Cup meeting on September 10 to keep the horse fresh in the minds of slot-holders if his horse doesn't get picked up quickly.
"We can give him a run in a suitable race at Rosehill on September 23 if that's the best way to go," Robb said.
"But he's quite capable of tackling The Kosciuszko first-up, based on the way he sprinted in that trial.
"He was very good in it and he pulled up well. He's not going to need a lot more hard work from here."
Sizzle Minizzle was eight races into a campaign that had begun in mid-November of last year by the time he won the Country Championships Final.
He is clearly a very tough horse who also had to overcome a setback midway through his last campaign.
"He had a virus leading up to the Country Championships qualifier at Coonamble and I couldn't get much work into him," Robb said.
"I thought he might struggle to run the 1400 off just one serious gallop, but he sat three deep and fought on really well to run second and qualify.
"Then he kicked on and won the final. He ticked another important box that day as well, by doing it on a bog track. He's good on all surfaces.
"We've had no problems this time around. He looks great and he's doing everything right in his work. He's a proper racehorse now. We've just got to get a run in the race."
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