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By Graeme White

Leading country jockey Mathew Cahill has already won two Snake Gully Cups on favoured runners and he has a strong chance of a third with the TAB second favourite, Money Team ($3.20) on Friday.

Cahill will be legged aboard the fancied galloper in the $100,000 XXXX Gold Big Dance eligibility feature race at the two-day carnival.

Cahill took out the race in 2001 with McLaren Vale ($2.80) and three years later with At The Show ($1.90). It has been a while between drinks for Cahill in the main attraction which is being conducted for the 40th year.

Ticklebelly's trainer Scott Collings (right) with son Hayden. Picture by Graeme White

“I would love to win it again. It’s one of the great country races to be in and it is getting hard to win,” he said.

Money Team has won five of his 13 starts and is coming off a victory at Warwick Farm over 1300m on September 24 and six weeks later ran fourth at Randwick on November 4.

Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup is attempting to win his first Snake Gully Cup just like Scott Collings who prepares the TAB favourite Ticklebelly ($2.80).

Collings would love to win the Snake Gully Cup – a race he can recall contesting as a jockey in his riding days.

“It was a long time ago, but I do remember riding in a Snake Gully Cup,” he said.

“I would like to win it for a lot of reasons but mainly for owner Mick Doyle who is a great supporter of country racing.”

Collings has won two editions of The Tuckerbox – the feature sprint race sponsored by Bellettes Bins – and would cherish a Snake Gully Cup.

“It would mean a lot if she won. She won her debut at Gundagai a couple of years ago so she knows the track and Pierre (Boudvillan) rides the track well,” he said. “She is drawn to lead or be right on the speed and that is also important at Gundagai.”

Collings won last year’s The Tuckerbox with Extravagent Lad ($6) who will race at Canterbury Park on Friday night and in 2021 was successful with Bombdiggity.

Trainer Mitch Beer won the Cup last year with Clever Art and will team up with co-trainer George Carpenter with Apollo Mission ($17) and Mafia ($9). Apollo Mission won two starts ago at Kembla Grange, while Mafia has been placed at two of his past five runs.

Louie’s Legacy ($17) was seventh last year and will again be in the race along with stablemate Bellestic Kids ($19). The Joseph-Jones operation won the Cup in 2022 with Super Helpful while a year later Suparazi was successful for Nick Heywood. He will ride veteran Cavalier Charles ($12) – the winner of $573,000.

Topweight Indispensable ($31) will be having his second start for trainer Craig Weeding after previously racing in Tasmania. Weeding will also have prolific winner Prince Of Helena ($18) in the Snake Gully Cup. Prince Of Helena won his only start at the track in the 2022 Gundagai Cup.

“Both my horses will be fitter for their latest starts and they are competitive at this level of country racing,” Weeding said.

The scratching of Sir Davy has given first emergency Panic ($12) a start for trainer Matthew Kelley and jockey Jeff Penza who won the race last year. Penza has captured three Snake Gully Cups – two on horses at double-figure odds – and Panic is listed at the same odds.

The course is rated a Good 4 with a huge crowd expected for the iconic race meeting.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Gundagai here