After taking out one of the feature events on the Dubbo Turf Club calendar last year, Rodney Robb will be out for an even bigger win on Sunday.
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The well-known Nyngan trainer has nominated two horses for Sunday’s $150,000 Country Championships Qualifier at Dubbo Turf Club.
Robb has put forward Lucienne and Lulu’s Destiny, two horses which have been in winning form as well good as any other among the 19 nominations receives for the feature event.
An enormous 185 nominations in total were received for the meeting.
The winner and runner-up in that events gains passage through to the $500,000 final at Royal Randwick on April 7.
Robb is no stranger to winning feature events at Dubbo Turf Club, having taken out the inaugural $50,000 Picnic Championship Final last September.
While Robb is a regular on the picnic circuit and both Lucienne and Lulu’s Destiny have raced there, the pair have been contesting TAB meetings in recent times.
Lulu’s Destiny hasn’t run worse than second in her past seven starts but the bulk of those have been in picnic or outback races.
Lucienne has had three starts this preparation, winning at Bedgerabong first-up before running fifth in the Championship Preview at Coonamble last time out, finishing behind the likes of fellow qualifier nominees Tuncoona and Joey’s Destiny.
Robb and his fellow trainers aren’t the only ones who have been planning for this for the best part of a year.
Dubbo Turf Club general manager Vince Gordon and his team have been hard at work in the build-up to this weekend’s meeting with a huge amount of renovations and improvements being completed at the track.
“We’re very excited Gordon said.
“It’s going to be great to get out here. There’s a lot to like about the day.
“The Champs has 19 nominations, which is great. It’s going to be a really interesting race.”
While the $150,000 qualifier is the main attraction, the entire meet is set to be quality and competitive.
The showcase stature means each race is worth $30,000 minimum, a $10,000 increase on regular meetings.
Robb has also nominated Mango Liston for the Class 1 Handicap (1400m) and Vai Avanti for the $40,000 Maiden Showcase Plate (1300m).
Final fields are released on Thursday.
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.
