Trainer Matthew Dale has a slot in the $1.3 million Koscuiszko but doesn't know which horse will fill it after star sprinter Fell Swoop suffered an injury last week.
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The headline runner came out of a 1,200 race at Moonee Valley with an issue last Saturday, which will likely leave him out of action for eight weeks.
Dale's chances for a slot in the $1.3 million race hung by a thread until long-term friend Rodney Thompson drew a winning ticket in the Koscuiszko stakes on Tuesday.
Thompson struck a deal to be represented by a Dale-trained horse, with Notation, Coup De Main and Super Star Bob are likely to became the final candidate.
Dale's stable wants to nominate a horse as soon as possible but also give Thompson a chance to observe their form under race conditions.
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Coup De Main will run in the benchmark 64 handicap in Illawarra this Saturday while Superstar Bob will likely race the following weekend. Notation will start in another mares race in two weeks after coming fourth in the Mona Lisa Stakes.
"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster week and now it's a matter of seeing who best fits the profile for Rodney's slot," Dale said. "We decided at the time Notation will likely go down a mare's path, meaning she'd go down a different road to the Koscuiszko.
"Our headline horse for the race was going to be Fell Swoop but he's out of action which leaves my other horses and seeing who out of them is going to be best suited for the race's conditions."
Meanwhile Keith Dryden's stable have snatched the second position for a Canberra-based runner in the $1.3 million race with Handle the Truth.
The four-year-old gelding won four races in Sydney last season and impressed during a trial at Thoroughbred Park last week.
Handle The Truth beat Todd Blowes' Noble Boy by five-lengths, with the gelding also securing a slot in the Koscuiszko.
"It would have been a shame for him to not get a slot because he's probably one of the top five chances on the field," Dryden said.
"When he won the benchmark 78 in Sydney last July, the big question was did we enter the Koscuiszko. I didn't want to go into the race with a tired horse so we gave him a bit of a break.
"We brought him back and trialled last week, then it all sort of fell into place and we gained a slot. Now we'll program from there.
"This will be his biggest race and we'll start looking at grade three races if he goes extremely well."
Dryden will enter the four-year-old gelding in a race and trial before heading to the Koscuiszko at Royal Randwick on October 19.