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By Graeme White

Experienced Wagga jockey Mick Travers will look to ride the wave of momentum into Tuesday's race meeting at Albury.

Travers will head to Albury in a rich vein of form having ridden five winners over the weekend.

Travers enjoyed his first winning treble in 'a fair while' at Narrandera on Saturday when he returned three wins and two seconds from the six-race card. He backed it up with a winning double at Moruya on Sunday.

Jockey/trainer Michael Travers. Picture by Wagga Advertiser

Travers, who recently became NSW's first dual-licence holder, credits training for the improvement in his riding.

"My wife's been doing my rides for me and that takes a bit of pressure off me. She's been doing all the calling around and things are falling into place," Travers said.

"With the training, I'm definitely a lot fitter and a lot lighter. I walk around two and a half to three kilos lighter than I was this time last year so when I go to the races now I don't have to sweat, I can eat and drink what I want, I can eat on the way to the races and I'm going to the races fit and strong and that's helped improve my riding.

"Going to the races is easy. Whereas before you're preparing the night before, you're sweating, you're stressing. I've got none of that and it makes my life so much easier."

It's not just his riding that is improving. Travers's training career is also gaining momentum. He has enjoyed four winners from his first 50 starters and was recently approved by NSW to increase his stable from a maximum of five horses to eight.

"I put a submission to have more and they allowed me to have eight," Travers said. "Thank you to Racing NSW and the stewards for giving me that extension as well. If you're not growing, you're not learning."

Last-start Wagga winner Mathrin ($5 on TAB) heads Travers's team of four that he takes to Albury on Tuesday. She will contest the Albury Wodonga Plastering Services Class One Handicap (1000m).

Travers revealed he was thrilled to have the filly join his stable recently, explaining how Mathrin was the horse that originally sparked his interest in training.

"She's a nice little filly. It's a funny story. She's the horse that started it all for me," he explained. "She was the first horse I tried to buy for my wife.

"We tried to buy her through the sales to train but I couldn't afford her. I was the underbidder and I rang the guy that ended up buying her and he's the guy that I train for now. He said I can't give you Mathrin but I can give you Estaverdi.

"It's been a long way round but we got her eventually so it was good to get a win with her."

The guy is Peter Knight and his partner Robyn Tatham. They now have eight horses with Travers, and he cannot believe how it has turned out.

"They are fantastic owners, couldn't ask for better," Travers said. "They share the horses between them.

"He's got a lot of horses, puts a lot of money into racing and he's been fantastic for me. He's just given me a chance, which is unbelievable."

Travers expects another of theirs, Delcoff ($16), to run an improved race in the HIB Insurance Maiden Plate (1600m).

"He hasn't shown it on the track yet," he said. "He was working well leading up to his last start and was disappointing. He's had a freshen up since then and I'd like to think he'll run a lot better."

Mathrin meets some promising opposition on Tuesday but Travers believes she won't be out of her depth.

"We run up against nice horses in Mojo Magic ($2.60 favourite) and Tap 'N' Run ($3.60). They're both good horses and it's always hard to step up from maiden to class one but I believe in her," he said. "I'd like to think she'll at least be competitive."

As for his memorable day at Narrandera on Saturday, Travers said the day did not unfold exactly how he expected it to.

"It was a good result. The funny thing is I went to the races and I really thought the one in the first was a good thing," Travers said of Blessed Award, who ran a close second.

"I was kicking the dog, so to speak, and it was probably what I needed to fire me up. It was a great result. Any time you ride one winner is a good day, if you ride two, it's even better and anything else is a bonus so it was obviously a good day.

"Everything's coming along well. The horses are starting to find their spot. We've got a lot of maidens there at the moment and I'm looking forward to Tuesday.”

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Albury here