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By Ray Hickson

It’s not normal practice for Mudgee trainer Mark Jones to back Life’s A Party up under two weeks from a first-up win but he saw an opportunity at Dubbo on Sunday.

The six-year-old mare broke a 14 month gap between wins when she scored in the Bill Aspros Cup at Bathurst on Anzac Day and Jones hopes she can repeat the dose in the Hello Sport Handicap (1200m).

Life’s A Party, $3 with TAB on Friday, had endured a run of misfortune through her winter and spring preparation so her first-up success, a fifth win from 20 starts, was welcome.

“Last campaign she ran in some pretty decent sprint races and she ran a couple of placings, but she had a fair bit of bad luck,’’ Jones said.

“With a bit better luck she could have won one or two of them.

“She’s started on the right foot by winning first-up and it looks like a good race for her. She’s drawn well, she’s not badly weighted and she’s in a race that’s winnable.”

Jones said the nine days between runs is a better result than if it was a week’s turnaround but saw no reason not to give her the chance given she’s eaten and worked well since the win.

Life's A Party wins at Bathurst on April 25

Grant Buckley rides the mare again, he’s had three rides for two wins on her including at Bathurst, and Jones said if he can keep her out of trouble he’d be confident she’ll be hard to beat.

“She’s not the easiest horse to ride, you’ve got to ride her perfect and once you do that she is a very good horse,’’ he said.

“She can get herself into trouble, she can over race, sometimes she goes a bit hard, or gets back a bit too far.

“She had a bit of bad luck last campaign but Bucko seems to ride her well. If she could settle just behind the pace and come home strong that’d be great.”

Stablemate Kora Magic is also a six-year-old mare and she’s run as many minor placings as Life’s A Party has had starts for just the two wins.

While Jones said he can never be confident, he believes she’s ready to run her usual honest race fresh in the Total Diesel Repairs Handicap (1000m).

Around this time three years ago, soon after notching a maiden win at her first run for Jones, Kora Magic strung seven second placings on end and she’s added another seven since that run came to an end.

“She never seems to win many but she gets a lot of places. She always performs well and earns us money so we thought she could have another prep,’’ Jones said.

“There always seems to be one a bit better than her.

“I don’t trial them very often if they are older horses, just put the work into them. She’s done the same work as the other horse, they came in together, and she’s fit enough to run 1000m.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday’s Dubbo meeting