Diplomac Jack has already earned himself a special place in the career of Ballarat trainer Thomas Carberry.
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The eight-year-old provided Carberry with his first win as a trainer in September, 2018, and has gone on to win six races and earn almost $300,000.
Diplomac Jack will be out to add to that record in the $30,000 Petrogras Burrumbeet Cup, 1800m, on Saturday.
And what an effort it would be if he could make in back-to-back wins in the New Year's Day feature event.
Nothing would delight Carberry more.
Diplomac Jack goes into this edition of the Burrumbeet Cup with a much different preparation to last year.
He's has had six starts in the past 12 months - four in the summer and two in early spring.
Carberry said there was no particularly reason for the lighter racing program.
"We began a littler earlier (mid-year) with him last season, but he struggles in soft ground.
"He also had a skin infection on a hind leg so we eased off to get him over that, but he's right now and in good form."
This will be his first start finishing fifth in the Avoca Cup on October 16 - that coming after a third in the Coleraine Cup.
"We were thinking about starting him at Geelong, but instead opted for a jump out," Carberry said.
"We believe this (Burrumbeet) is a good start to a campaign."
Apprenitice jockey Zoe Lloyd will have her first ride on Diplomac Jack.
"He's well weighted. The 3kg claim should help him be competitive," Carberry said.
Carberry said races of this type - especially with Burrumbeet being a hometown cup - were best suited to Diplomac Jack at this stage of his career.
"It's a typical country cup and we hope we're involved in the finish.
"He might need the run, but he should still give good account of himself. You never know in these types of race. If we wins it will a great surprise," he said.
Carberry said although Diplomac Jack most likely had only one more season of racing left him, he was certainly capable of getting another couple of wins.
Maybe a second Burrumbeet Cup can be one.
Top weight Court Deep, one of two starters from the Ballarat stable of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is expected to start favourite despite a wide draw on the tight track.
The five-year-old has an excellent strike rate with five wins in 17 starts, including the Penshurst Cup on November 20 two starts ago.
