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By Ray Hickson

Unlike a year ago, trainer Brett Bellamy can approach consistent mare Boncassie’s campaign with the confidence that she has done enough to make the field for next month’s Newhaven Park Northern Rivers Country Championships.

Trainer Brett Bellamy

So there’s no pressure on her going into her first-up run in the $27,000 Komatsu Wayne Glenn Pink Silks Cup (1213m) at Coffs Harbour on Sunday - other than to prove she's on track.

At the same time last year Boncassie was a Class 2 horse and was left stranded as an emergency for the Country Championships, she didn’t gain a start and ultimately won a Class 2 race on the same program.

But with two more wins and a higher rating, Bellamy can time the four-year-old’s preparation to peak on February 18 when the $150,000 race is run on her home track.

“We can’t play with things too much because she can only afford to win one more race or she’s not eligible,’’ he said.

“This isn’t her grand final but I’d like her to be very competitive in the race and I think she will be.

“At the end of the day a good solid run under her belt is going to do her a world of good.”

Boncassie, who will carry just 52kg after Courtney Bellamy’s claim, hasn’t raced since the end of June and after abandoning a shot at a Kosciuszko start the Coffs Harbour trainer elected to be patient.

He hasn’t trialled her publicly but the mare has had a private jump out.

And Bellamy said the extra 12 months before going into a Country Championships assignment could be a blessing in disguise given how she’s developed.

“She’s come back bigger and stronger than she’s ever been,’’ he said.

“We were going to try to get her into the Kosciuszko and it all went pear shaped then we thought we’d give her a bit of extra time in the paddock with the view to coming back and running in the Championships.

“Ideally she is definitely going to need another run, possibly two, depending on how she goes on Sunday.”

It seems likely Boncassie’s second-up run will be either the Queen Of The North (1200m) at Port Macquarie on January 20 or the Country Championships Preview at Grafton two days later.

Bellamy has two other runners in the Pink Silks Cup in the shape of experienced gallopers Perigord and Mister Smartee and he said both have a case to run well under the right circumstances.

Perigord, a seven-year-old, broke through for a win at Bowraville just after Christmas and he concedes the gelding will need an economical run to see out the trip.

“It was a confidence booster, he’s a lovely old horse. Hopefully he will get 1200m but his best distance is around 1100m,’’ he said.

“But he’s just walking over the road and that’s a big bonus to him. Drawn a gate helps, he can just jump out and travel.”

Boncassie wins at Taree in May

Mister Smartee is having his second start for Bellamy, formerly with Tas Morton, and it will be his 74th start on Sunday on the back of an encouraging fresh performance just over a week ago over 100m further at Coffs Harbour.

“He ran a really good race first-up, and he’s done well since,” he said.

“With that solid run under his belt it might take the edge off him but he’s drawn the gate to get the run of the race. You’d think he’s only going to improve for the run.”

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday’s Coffs Harbour meeting