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By Ray Hickson

It’s common practice for trainer Gayna Williams to let her horses do the talking.

Trainer Gayna Williams (Pic: Bradley Photos).

The Bathurst trainer has never been one to take any result for granted or put undue pressure on a horse but she does believe Zoo Station, the favourite for Sunday’s $150,000 Newhaven Park Central Districts Country Championships (1400m) at Mudgee, is above average.

“I don’t like over-rapping horses,’’ Williams said.

“I just like to see what they produce first and see them perform but we knew she had ability and is a very talented mare.

“She’s one of those mares you can saddle up and put in a race and you know she will do her best.”

Zoo Station is one of three runners, the others being El Mo and Tags, for Williams and she’s had a relatively smooth preparation into her major aim for the preparation. At least on the track.

She kicked off in early January with an impressive Highway win over 1200m at Rosehill, defeating Golden Point who has subsequently won a Highway, and then stepped into metropolitan company for a narrow defeat over 1400m at Warwick Farm on Australia Day.

Williams elected to keep the five-year-old fresh since that win, she won a Bathurst trial on February and the only hiccup, if you can call it that, was the Bathurst races being called off earlier in the week.

“Unfortunately we missed a trial on Monday but she had a good gallop on Tuesday,’’ Williams said.

“She’s a very tough mare, she’s eating well and trained on well, and she seems to be happy.”

The Mudgee race has been good to Williams, she won it in 2020 with Healing Hands while Noel’s Gift made it to successive finals with second placings in 2018 and 2019.

In Zoo Station, $2.30 favourite with TAB for Sunday’s race and $13 to win the Final, she has a horse that can cope with whatever the weather throws at her but expect jockey Anthony Cavallo to let the mare find her feet, as usual, early.

“She is adaptable and it won’t matter either way with her, she’s trustworthy on any going really,’’ she said.

“He’ll just have to see how the race pans out, as they all will, so we’ll leave that up to him to see where she ends up.”

El Mo is clearly the highest rated runner in the Central Districts feature but he’s had a less than ideal build up with only three starts in the past two years and he’ll tackle the race first-up since finishing midfield in the Mudgee Sprint in December.

Four-year-old Tags is something of a problem child for Williams and she has the fingers crossed he can produce his best after a return to form with his closing third in the Preview at Dubbo two weeks ago. Even then he gave away a big start.

Tags was $5 second favourite behind his stablemate with TAB on Friday so it’s important he does everything right.

Zoo Station runs second at Warwick Farm on January 26

“He is a talented horse but he gets a bit overwhelmed on race day and in the race,’’ Williams said.

“He hasn’t put it all together yet but hopefully we keep racing him and see if he picks it up.

“He’s a very insecure horse. He’d rather stay in his box than come outside. When he’s finished his work all he wants to do is go home. He just waits until they jump and wants to follow.

“He wants to follow and looks for a bit of assistance. We’re hoping it won’t keep going on too much longer.”

A barrier extension will be used on Tags to give the gelding a bit more room in the gates in the hope he’ll feel more comfortable and step away cleanly.

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Country Championships meeting at Mudgee