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By Brad Gray

They say there is a race for every horse.

Dubbo-based trainer Bob Caton is wondering when that will come along for his mare Maggies Time.

Apprentice Angela Cooper (Pic: Danny Williams Racing)

The seven-year-old is approaching fifty starts without having cracked her maiden but she’s rarely far away and she gets another chance on her home track on Sunday.

“Every jockey that has ridden her can’t believe she is still a maiden,” said Caton.

“She is just like a kid’s pony around the place.

“You can take her to the races, give her a hard run, 150 mile trip and then back, she’ll walk in the gate at home, put her head straight in the bin and check if there is any feed.

“I don’t work her much, just potter around, if you had half a dozen of her you could make a living.

“I could take her to a non-TAB meeting but I own her myself and I only have a couple of horses now, she just pays her way, it’s like bringing in a wage every month.”

In 14 of her last 16 starts, three kilogram claiming apprentice Angela Cooper has been in the saddle and Caton sees no reason to break up the team.

“Angela rides her work, some people say if I had a stronger jockey on she’d win but I’ve tried that before. The claim taking her down to the limit makes a big difference,” Caton said.

“I’m not really sure why she hasn’t won yet though, she draws a lot of bad gates. Funny thing is, the stronger the race she is in the better she tends to go.

“She loves the walker at home, I’ve got a really old model a bloke made me forty years ago and if it’s not going quick enough for her she pushes it.

“When you go to get her off she sees you coming and pushes it quicker.”

Caton, who turns 80 in August, has been training since 1964 with the majority of that time spent based out of Dubbo.

“I’m right on the track and have been for over 50 years, my stables were the first ones built on the track here,” he said.

“I had a couple of handy ones in the past. Master Patrick, he won from Mendooran to Rosehill, and Rafoy, he won 11 races in one season.”

Check out the fields and form for Dubbo on Sunday.