The Mark Mason-trained five-year-old gelding was one of 14 acceptors for the feature sprint on Hurricane Fall Country Music Cup day, a gala day racing for a quarter of a million dollars in prizemoney.

A son of Shaft, Royal Engineer hasn’t won in two starts on his home track and his Tamworth trainer is hopeful he will race well fresh in a sprint chock full of talent.

Royal Engineer has won a Highway Handicap in Sydney though in a 10-start career that has yielded three wins and $54,660 in prizemoney.

Mason also nominated sprinting star Hot Hit for the race but didn’t accept and will look at a start in Sydney for him in a few weeks.

“Both have been working good, real good,” Mason said.

“Royal Engineer is down in the weights and it looks a nice race.”

He is hoping his gelding can reprise the form which won him a Highway Handicap last time in and continue on to Scone where he has marked in a prelude to the Country Championship Qualifier at Scone and then the qualifier itself.

If not a Walcha Cup Carnival beckons.

Royal Engineer is not the only horse entered in tomorrow’s Showcase Sprint with Highway form either.

Tim McIntosh’s Star Shaft has two Highway Handicap wins under his belt.

The Muswellbrook five-year-old gelding won a Scone trial on January 11 and looks well placed to continue a promising career by adding to his three wins and 12 placings.

There are six other runners first up including the likes of Mapmaker (Craig Martin), Hammoon Boy (Sue Grills), Nicco’s Lass, A Magic Zariz and Poet’s Trick (Stephen Dixon).

Topweight is Capitano.

Trained at Tamworth by Jacob Perrett, the seven-year-old gelding son of Dane Fever won his second Inverell Shorts in three years two weeks ago.

He has won seven of his 24 starts but has yet to win on his home track although he has had just the one start at Tamworth.

He has 62kg while Run Cannon Run, trained by Mark Schmetzer, has 60kg and will be chasing a 10th career win.

Run Cannon Run has also won at Tamworth, as has the Rod Northam-trained Sargent Doakes.

Sargent Doakes was a game second in the 1100m Gilgandra Town Plate last time out and did win a 1000m Tamworth scamper in a sparkling 56.39secs at his first run back from a spell on December 5.

Hammoon Boy is another contender.

Trained by Sue Grills he has won one of his four starts on his home Tamworth track.

He followed a string of seconds with a pair of sevenths at Coonamble and Eagle Farm to complete his most recent campaign.

He returns from a 10-week break for a trainer who also has Cool Prince running in the feature Hurricane Fall Country Music Cup Class 3 Showcase Handicap (1400m).