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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Wayne Wilkes is well aware of what it takes to be competitive in the Newhaven Park Country Championships Final and because of that says Chase My Crown has no margin for error at Taree on Sunday.

Taree trainer Wayne Wilkes.

Three years ago Wilkes won the $150,000 Newhaven Park Mid North Coast Country Championships, run at Port Macquarie that year, with Lucciola Belle who went on to finish second behind Noble Boy in the Final at Randwick.

Chase My Crown’s record is not too dissimilar to Lucciola Belle’s at the same time, both had won two races and contested the Queen Of The North as a lead up (Chase My Crown ran second) but Wilkes said this year’s runner is still a work in progress.

That’s why he was surprised to learn the four-year-old had been installed favourite, $3.80 with TAB on Saturday, in a race he sees as a real challenge.

“She’s done a lot wrong in races before, she still hasn’t put her best foot forward,’’ Wilkes said.

“Until she does I’m a bit reserved on her at the moment, she’s got to learn to race with a lot better manners. There’s plenty of better performed horses in the race, Markwell Dreamer has won a Highway and Par Avion has won four races.”

Perhaps her reputation comes in part from finishing third in the Mid North Coast Country Championships last year, run at Scone, behind Charmmebaby at just her fifth race start.

Wilkes, who trains in partnership with son Joel, elected not to run Chase My Crown in the Championships Preview a couple of weeks ago due to a very heavy track and instead kept her up to the mark with a barrier trial win on the same day.

Dylan Gibbons rides Chase My Crown and he was on board in her latest win, over 1600m on a heavy track at Taree back in October, and that latest barrier trial.

One that Wilkes warns not to read too much into.

“She’s got to step up a little bit more than what she has at the moment,’’ he said.

“She had a soft trial, there wasn’t too much in it. It’s easy to go around in a barrier trial hard held and looking good then you let them off the bit and they don’t find anything.

“She’s going to need a bit of luck from the draw. She’s going to have to try to slot in somewhere or she could easily get caught out on a limb. If she could slot in midfield one off the fence that’d be lovely.”

Chase My Crown wins a Port Macquarie trial on February 6

Among the Wilkes partnership’s other runners on their home track is Hildalgo, a new addition to the stable who hasn’t raced for almost two years.

The six-year-old was formerly trained by David Atkins and contested a couple of Provincial Championships races back in 2020, he’s also coming off a recent trial win and Wilkes said the Upbound Handicap (1000m) will be a learning curve for them.

“He trialled quite well but he has to step up to race day,’’ he said.

“We’re just trying to get him back on track and in the right frame of mind. We’re treating him like a new horse and trying to find out what his idiosyncrasies are.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Country Championships meeting at Taree