Junee trainer Bruce Harpley thinks it should just about be Sokys Bigbullet's turn to win a cup.
Hopeful: trainer Bruce Harpley with Sokys Bigbullet, right. Photo: Kieren L. Tilly
Too often he has had to watch on from the second-placed stall as someone else lifts the spoils, including in the Wattle Time Cup last year.
He heads back to Cootamundra on Sunday with Sokys Bigbullet's form reading second in the Albury Cup, second in the Leeton Cup and second in the West Wyalong Cup.
"Hollywood Sign just held him off at Junee last year and, since then, he has been placed in some nice races," Harpley said. "He did win the Coolamon Cup last year and I'm going to take him there again this year after Sunday.
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"Once he wins another race, I'll probably have to be looking at M0 races for him. Ideally, it would be best if I was taking two horses to Menangle every week rather than one but I'm hoping Timely Loch might warrant a trip to Sydney once she gets fully fit."
Sokys Bigbullet has drawn gate five in Sunday's Wattle Time Cup and will be hoping to turn the tables on Strathlachlan Andy.
"I was pretty proud of Sokys Bigbullet last year at Cootamundra," Harpley said. "Strathlachlan Andy dominated the Carnival Of Cups last year and he is going to be one of the hardest to beat this Sunday again.
"The front-row draw means I can be a little bit more aggressive on him in the early stages and, if I can't find the front, I'm sure Strathlachlan Andy will want to get up into the action soon after the start, which would give me some cover."
Meanwhile, Harpley is confident he will have smart two-year-old Rubies For Tash back for the Breeders Challenge after missing the Gold Tiara series at Bathurst.
"I've only ever seen two kangaroos on my 40-acre property and, since Rubies For Tash took fright at the kangaroo in the lead-up to the Tiara and ran into the fence, I've been asking myself why did the kangaroo have to be in her paddock on that day," he said.