Victoria’s leading two stables hold all the aces in the $50,000 Gold Nugget Handicap, 1600m, in Ballarat on Sunday.
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Darren Weir has four of the 10 acceptors and the Euroa-based team of David and Ben Hayes, and Tom Dabernig has three runners.
Weir has top weight Sixties Groove, Guardini, Andrea Mantegna and Another Coldie, while Team Hayes will saddle up veteran Jacquinot Bay, Petrology and Mihany.
Sixties Groove was also an acceptor for the listed $100,000 Tokyo City Cup in Morphettville on Saturday, but has been scratched and will launch his spring campaign on his home track.
The six-year-old won back-to-back races at Flemington in July before going for a break and is nominated for the Melbourne Cup.
Guardini will also be first-up. He is nominated for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup.
Jacquinot Bay is a genuine veteran of the turf at 11-years of age and the Hayes stable would undoubtedly like to see him win at least one feature race in the spring.
He has won 15 times for $1.25m in stakes and only has to go back to early June to his latest win at Moonee Valley.
Anthony Freedman has a spring hopeful in New Zealand-bred Bedford engaged.
He is lightly raced with four wins in 15 starts and is another Caulfield and Melbourne Cups nomination.
Ballarat Turf Club has programmed eight races for the feature day, with the first at 12.45pm.
