Defending champion Bar Room Banta will kick off his NSW Breeders Challenge in Leeton on Tuesday.
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The Victorian pacer hasn't won this season but has been elected a dominant favourite in the heat for the three-year-old colts and geldings.
He's only been placed once in four starts this season and trainer Michael Stanley hopes the trip can spark a return to his best form after an unsuccessful Queensland Derby campaign.
"He hasn't won in his four starts in but he hasn't raced bad and it looks somewhat a fair drop in class for him," Stanley said.
Bar Room Banta won six straight races in his juvenile campaign and clocked a mile rate of 1:50.3 in the Breeders Challenge series last season.
However the son of A Rocknroll Dance hasn't won since November and meets a field of in-form three-year-olds all looking to progress to next month's semi-finals.
He is one of only two horses in the 10-strong field who have not won in their last four starts.
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Bar Room Banta started his journey from Stanley's base at Burrumbeet, outside of Ballarat, on Monday and isn't expected to return home until Thursday.
Ellen Bartley will be responsible for him once he crosses the border.
It's an unusual situation for Stanley but he's pleased there is a solution in order to compete in the group one series.
"The thoroughbred industry send horses back and forth willy nilly to other stables and have done so for years, and while us trotting people like to take our horses on our own, there is no difference to what they do week-in and week-out," he said.
"Apart from not being able to go drive him, which I would have liked to have done, I'm sure he will be well looked after for a couple of days."
Blake Jones will take the drive.
Stanley is more than happy to have the Narrandera reinsman as his replacement.
"I know Blake anyway but he seems to be one of the leading drivers around the Riverina anyway so it was a no brainer to get him to drive him," he said.
There is also a full field of three-year-old fillies to go around in their heat which includes impressive last-start winner Needyazhell.
She will start from barrier 12.
The first of eight races is at 5.40pm.