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By Graeme White

If you want to find the definition of commitment, then look no further than trainer Michael Mulholland who will attempt to win another feature race with Reward Seeker at Mudgee on Sunday.

Mulholland travels 200 kilometres to attend to his horses and is the epitome of a country trainer doing his best for his horses.

The trainer is based at Dubbo, but his horses are stabled at Wellington meaning he makes the 100 kilometre plus round trip twice a day.

Reward Seeker was to have raced at Kembla Grange on Saturday, but some missed work due to wet tracks meant a change of plans and an easier option.

Mulholland doesn’t expect Reward Seeker to win over 1400 metres in the Black Nugget Winter Cup, but he does feel the gelding will be running on strongly for future longer distance assignments.

“The race is too short for him and his best is normally over 1700 metres and further where he has won a few times,” he suggested.

“I have put a three-kilogram claiming apprentice on him (Elissa Meredith) to reduce some of the weight.

Reward Seeker runs fifth in the Narromine Cup

“She rode him in a trial at Cowra in July and handled him well.”

Reward Seeker won the trial by four lengths and has raced twice since for a second in the Forbes Cup and fifth in the Narromine Cup.

Meredith, who rode a career best treble at Narromine in July, will reduce Reward Seeker’s weight to 57.5 kilograms.

The top weight Fast Talking is first-up from a spell and ran fourth at his most recent start behind Reward Seeker in the Wellington Cup.

Reward Seeker has been carrying around 61 kilograms in most of his recent starts so the drop in weight in this grade is advantageous.

“It has been hard for him with the big weights so we will try and experiment with an apprentice rider to reduce a bit of the weight,” he said.

Mackellar’s Love has won two of her three starts at Mudgee and is expected to be more prominent in a more suitable race.

She was well beaten last start in the Narromine Cup behind Wild Rocket, but at her previous start ran the same galloper to a one length second.

Reward Seeker has only been lightly raced for an eight-year-old and has been able to win six times from 18 starts.

The veteran will be having his fourth start back from a spell over a distance well short of his best.

“He should have been up to 2000 metres by now this campaign. His best runs have been over 1700 metres and further,” he said.

“He has won at least three times over 1700 metres and further so 1400 metres is too short.

“I needed to start him at the distance because he has missed a bit of work and this will help him out for some other longer distance races.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Mudgee meeting