Canberra-trained Kosciuszko favourite Handle The Truth will jump from barrier one as he looks to become the first horse to win the $1.3m race twice.
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The star Keith Dryden sprinter landed the plum draw inside Scone boom horse Nadaraja who lines up in barrier two.
Luckless Geoff Duryea-trained Front Page, who had been well in the market, copped gate 14 having been scratched from the race 12 months ago after becoming fractious in the float en route to the track.
But for Dryden, who won't be able to attend Randwick on Saturday due to continued COVID restrictions, it was another box ticked for his classy six-year-old.
"I asked [champion jockey] Athol George Mulley one day what was the best barrier and he said there's only one barrier better than two son and that's inside it," Dryden said.
"He reckons from there you dictate the race so hopefully it's a nice barrier for us.
"I've got the horse right. I can't get him any better. Things have fallen into place okay."
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Sydney jockey Nash Rawiller will ride Handle The Truth for the first time since winning Canberra's Listed National Sprint (1400m) in March.
Handle The Truth tackles the Kosciuszko third-up, after finishing 6.6L off Everest fancy Eduardo in the Group 2 Shorts (1100m) at Randwick in Septmeber.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
