2022 Tamworth Cup: Big race jumps at 4.20pm on Friday

Headlined by the $200,000 feature, the eight-race TAB affair has total prize money of more than $500,000 and has attracted big-name metropolitan trainers and jockeys.

They include legendary trainers Gai Waterhouse and John Hawkes, and their contemporaries Bjorn Baker and Gary Portelli.

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The jockey brigade includes Golden Slipper winner Brenton Avdulla, Sydney Cup winner Rachel King and fellow Group 1 winner Willie Pike.

"It's going to present as a really strong day of racing," said TJC general manager Michael Buckley.

None of the metropolitan trainers will in Tamworth on Friday.

Buckley said the unavailability of a late flight from Tamworth to Sydney on Friday meant the trainers would not have been able to attend trackwork at Randwick on Saturday morning had they come to Tamworth.

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A charter flight had been arranged, but the jockeys received seating propriety, he said.

The Kris Lees-trained Kinloch (Dylan Gibbons) - who won the $500,000 Provincial-Midway Championships Final at Randwick this month - was the clear favourite for the 1400m Tamworth Cup, at $3.70 for the win (TAB fixed odds).

Local hope Wren's Day (Pike), trained by Tamworth's Cody Morgan, was on the second line of betting at $8.50 along with the Brett Cavanough-trained Fender (Grant Buckley).

Morgan also has Acrophobic (Ben Looker) and Edit (Iysha Collett) in the race.

The winners and second-placed horses in the Tamworth Cup will be eligible to enter the ballot for the inaugural $2 million Big Dance at Randwick on November 1 - Melbourne Cup day.

Buckley said the rescheduling of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, so that it now coincided with Friday's meeting, presented a "tremendous opportunity for us to try and maximise our on-course attendance".

"We've been treated to real good weather the last two weeks, the forecast looks good - mid to high 20s tomorrow [Friday], clear skies," he said.

"So we're looking at it as a really good opportunity for the people of Tamworth to come out and enjoy a day at the races."

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