Kosciuszko winner Handle The Truth headlines the nominations for Friday's $100,000 Snake Gully Cup (1400m) at Gundagai.
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An increase in prizemoney for this year's Cup has only enhanced what is traditionally one of the features of the Southern District Racing Association (SDRA) calendar.
This year's Snake Gully Cup attracted 36 nominations, with a total of 228 entries for Friday's entire eight-race showcase meeting.
Sydney trainers Gary Portelli and John O'Shea have targeted the race with Showminder and Loved One respectively, while three runners from last month's $1.3 million Kosciuszko are nominated.
Handle The Truth won the Kosciuszko on October 19 for Canberra trainer Keith Dryden and then was second behind Quackerjack in the $200,000 Goulburn Cup (1400m) last Sunday week.
Dryden admits Handle The Truth's place in the Cup field lays in the hands of the handicappers.
"I'll wait and see what weight he gets," Dryden said.
"I'm not really sure what he'll get but if we do go there I'll be looking for an (apprentice) on him."
Dryden indicated Handle The Truth could start if he got 62 kilograms or less. He would then utilise the claim of an apprentice jockey.
The four-year-old carried 58kg in the Goulburn Cup and his benchmark rating increased by one, to 91, with that run.
Dryden is also represented by Balonne, who has won his past two at Canberra.
Gundagai-Adelong Race Club secretary Len Tozer is delighted by both the standard and depth of nominations.
"It's quite good. We're certainly quite happy," Tozer said.
"The quality is good and the quantity is also very good so we should be in for another excellent two days.
"We're looking forward to a really good crowd and a great couple of days of racing."
The Gundagai track received 40 millimetres of rain over the last week and is rated a good four ahead of Friday's meeting.
"It's excellent. The track is in perfect condition," he said.
"The rain came at the right time, along with the irrigation. The track is rated a good four and I daresay we'll race on a good three on Friday."
Friday's feature sprint, the $50,000 Snake Gully Flying Handicap (1000m) attracted 24 nominations, headlined by the Richard and Michael Freedman-trained Latin Boy.
The club also received 177 nominations for the seven-race card on Saturday, where the $30,000 Hair Of The Dog Cup (1800m) is the feature.
Snake Gully Cup nominations
Athonis (Barbara Joseph), Balonne (Keith Dryden), Delivered (Chris Heywood), Don't Give A Damn (Danny Williams), Foxlike (Kerry Weir), Gasworx (George Osborne), Gentleman Max (Trevor Sutherland), Handle The Truth (Keith Dryden), Hirokin (Jarrod Austin), Irish Lucy (Richard & Luke Clarke), Jounama (Kerry Weir), Lady Mironton (Wayne Carroll), Late Charge (Dan McCarthy), Levee Bank (Gratz Vella), Loved One (John O'Shea), Man Of Peace (Matthew Dale), Monte Majura (Len Hodgson), Murvate (Robert Brandy), My Divas (George Osborne), Ons Vier (Joseph Ible), Perfect Illusion (Mitchell Beer), Ruthless Agent (Kurt Goldman), Screamarr (Garry Kirkup), Showminder (Gary Portelli), Spunlago (Ron Stubbs), Super Star Bob (Matthew Dale), Supreme Polarity (Nick Olive), Toorak Cowboy (Craig Widdison), Tully Toff (Gary Colvin), Up Trumpz (Joe Cleary), Upper House (Norm Gardner), Uptown Lilly (George Osborne), Viceroy (Luke Pepper), Who's Knocking (Trevor McIlrick), Yeldarb (Dan McCarthy), Zero To Ten (Ben Blay)
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