Taree trainers Tony Ball and Wayne Wilkes have got wet trackers in form and ready to lap up the conditions on their home course at the Manning Valley Race Club meeting scheduled for Taree on Monday.
Trainers from near and far have responded enthusiastically to the meeting being quickly put together on Thursday after so many recent wash-outs at multiple tracks on the Mid North Coast and beyond,
Eight races with capacity fields and the rail in the true position will make for a very competitive day of racing and Wayne Wilkes is hoping to continue his recent run of winners on his home track with Chaserlette looking his best chance.
The lightly-raced four-year-old mare will contest the Mid Coast Automotive Country Boosted Class 1 Handicap over 1250m having bolted in to win a Maiden event at Taree at her last start on April 28.
That race was a run on a Heavy 10 surface and on Friday morning the Taree track was officially rated a Heavy 10 with some rain forecast for the weekend.
MVRC CEO Damien Toose said the club was optimistic the meeting would go ahead.
"It's raceable and there are no issues with safety," he said. "The track has been aerated since we had a recent meeting washed out and that got things moving in the right direction.
"We're in that Heavy 9, 10 range, but we've walked the track in the last couple of days and it's actually pretty good under foot.
"We'll have a couple of horses gallop on the track in front of one of the stewards on Saturday morning to make sure everything's fine and as long as we don't get excessive rain we should be right for Monday."
Wilkes's 3kg-claiming apprentice jockey daughter Shae Wilkes rode Chaserlette in its breakthrough win and the horse appreciated being taken straight to the lead, from where it tore away in the straight to win by 4.6 lengths as a well-backed $3.20 chance.
She is drawn wider and the field is bigger this time, but Chaserlette typically jumps well and has good early speed so the option is there for her to vie for the lead again.
"Chaserlette certainly gets conditions to suit because there's no doubt she'll handle the heavy track," Wayne Wilkes said. "She's been competitive in all five of her career starts and there is plenty of upside to her going into this race."
Ball's runners will include Run Rory Run, which has had six starts on heavy tracks for three wins and two seconds.
Each of the five-year-old gelding's two runs this campaign have been on the heavy in Benchmark 58 races for seconds at Tuncurry and Taree and Run Rory Run looks well placed again in the Stacks Law Firm Benchmark 58 Handicap over 1250m.
Run Rory Run, to be ridden by 2kg-claiming apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald, is drawn wide but Tony Ball said that won't change the tactics on the horse, which will be to race up on the speed.
"He'll roll forward from the wide gate and most likely sit outside the leader," Ball said. "I was keen to get another run with him on the heavy this campaign, so this has worked out well.
"His work's good, he looks good and he was bucking and carrying on when I had him out for a pick of grass in the last couple of days, so he's ready to go."
*Gates open at 11.30am. First race 12.05pm. Admission $10 and $5 concession. Full bar, bistro, TAB and bookmaker facilities. Visit facebook page www.facebook.com/ManningValleyRaceClub for more information.
