However the Craig Martin-trained gelding might be sitting at home in his box because of the lack of jockeys.

Trainer Craig Martin is hugely disappointed by the dearth of riders.

He had hoped to have Dale Spriggs aboard but the Newcastle jockey is riding Kris Lees’ Festus Hagen.

“Can’t get a jockey,” Martin said.

“At this stage we won’t be going around, only a 10 per cent chance of

starting.”

His only hope was for Lees to scratch Festus Hagen.

His isn’t a one-off Melbourne Cup day story.

HNWRA chief steward Shane Cullen believes he could be scratching up to 15 horses at today’s Moree meeting because of the lack of jockeys.

He was trying to have a coastal apprentice from Coffs Harbour ride at Moree today.

“But that leaves another 10 we’ll probably have to scratch. There’s no winners in this.”

He will bear the brunt of trainer and owner complaints as well as try and work in with his own lack of stewards on a day where he and his fellow stewards are stretched.

The HNWRA has four meetings and it means Cullen will control today’s huge Muswellbrook Cup meeting with just one other steward.

“There are 18 meetings in NSW and 17 stewards,” he said.

Never You Mind, winner of four from 24, had been working into contention for today’s $40,000 Muswellbrook Cup, thought Jessica Drury.

She rides the gelding in much of his work.

“He’s my favourite horse,” the 20-year-old apprentice said yesterday.

She said he ran a nice race at Scone when third to Spy Agency and then at Tamworth he had a big weight and got caught in a stop-start race.

“He’s been working well, I thought he’d be a chance in the Muswellbrook Cup.”

She is coming off a good day at Gunnedah where she rode a double but had to have a “needle” from ambulance men early in the day after feeling sick and missing the first race.

“It finished better,” she said.

Today she has a full book of rides at Tamworth, two of them for Craig Martin – Captains Will (Race 2) and La La La (Race 5).