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By Greg Prichard

Full Press ($1.95 favourite on TAB) has had a long preparation that began in the middle of winter and covers 10 races, but he has held his form superbly throughout and trainer Brett Dodson is confident he’ll be right in the finish again at Taree on Sunday.

The five-year-old gelding from Coffs Harbour will go into the Hydrahose Summer Cup Benchmark 74 Handicap over 1600m as a last-start winner at Murwillumbah on December 9.

Full Press (Matthew Bennett) in winning form at Armidale. Image by Bradley Photographers

His 10 runs this campaign have resulted in three wins, four seconds and just the three unplaced runs and there’s nothing like that to keep the connections happy.

“The horse is flying at the moment, he’s going really well,” Dodson said.

“He’s handling the regular racing without a problem and has had the track conditions to suit.

“I said to the owners, ‘Any sign he gives me, leaves his feed, if he runs along bad at trackwork, or he runs a bad race or pulls up ordinary, he’ll be straight to the paddock’.

"I said that to them four runs ago, but he’s just kept producing.

“He’s just kept doing well around the stable, doing well in races and pulling up well after them, so it’s really hard to turn a gelding out when he’s in that sort of form, especially with the prizemoney he’s picking up.

“I space his runs and this is probably the only query I’ve got. After his last run at Murwillumbah it will only be nine days between runs, which I’ve never really done with him, but he just pulled up so well and it’s the perfect race for him. So I’m going in happy.

“It’s very hard to find races where you get in reasonably well at the weights with a horse like him. He’s paid for his consistency and he’s certainly getting up there in the weights now. There aren’t many 74-rated races around, so I had to have a crack at this one with him.”

Dodson said the recent run of dry tracks, plus the horse naturally maturing, has been perfect for Full Press.

“I’ve had him since the start and he’s always shown a bit of potential, but early on in his career he was really gangly and legs everywhere and we found although he won on soft going he didn’t handle the really heavy tracks,” he said.

“And when we had all that rain for 12 months we just couldn’t avoid heavy tracks wherever we went, but we’ve been lucky with the tracks this preparation. The other day, on the firm deck at Murwillumbah, he just sat off them and when he let down he put paid to them in a few strides.”

*Gates open 11am. Tickets $10. Full TAB, bookmaker and bistro facilities and Santa will be there with gift bags for the kids.

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