But if Aesop Fable can overcome drawing barrier 15 of 16, it would secure the five-year-old, her Moree trainer and jockey Ashley Morgan a third straight Cup triumph, following victories in the Dubbo Cup last month and the Coonable Cup this month.

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It would also be a case of mission accomplished: Aesop Fable's owner, Dominic Neate, transferred the horse to Sinclair this year with the main goal of winning the Coonamble Cup and the Coonabarabran Cup.

Sinclair said it was "a hard track to draw wide on", but added that his horse Free Billy drew wide but still won the 2019 Coonabarabran Cup.

He added: "She'll run a nice race, but the barrier will make it very hard.

"It just depends on how much luck she has in running.

"But one thing about her, she likes to win. So she'll give it her best.

"And she's in good order. She hasn't had any hiccups - there hasn't been a problem since we've had her."

Aesop Fable will carry 59kg in the race and was on the third line of betting at $6.50 for the win (TAB fixed odds).

The Kody Nestor-trained Fast Talking (Grant Buckley) was the favourite at $6.

Sinclair declined to single out the main threat "because there's a few in there".

"It's a hard race, especially the fact that we've gone up in weight and drawn a bad barrier," he said.

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