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By Greg Prichard

Courageous Queen has done her best work in 1000-metre races run on heavy tracks at her home course and conditions will again suit her at the Taree meeting on Monday.

Taree trainer Glen Milligan will send Courageous Queen around in the Jason Garrick Contracting Benchmark 74 Handicap over 1000 metres.

The four-year-old mare loves her home track, where she has raced five times for two wins, a second, a third and just the one unplaced run.

Trainer Glen Milligan

Most importantly, those two wins, which came in just the second and third starts of her career, were over 1007 metres on a Heavy 10 track and 1000 metres on a Heavy 8.

She has run six times on heavy tracks for two wins, a second and a third and all of the evidence points to it being a case of “the wetter, the better” for Courageous Queen because she has raced four times on soft tracks for no wins or placings.

Taree was rated a Heavy 10 on Thursday, with the forecast for further rain heading into the weekend and during it.

The noted mudlarks among the acceptors are going to have conditions perfect for them.

Courageous Queen finished a close second at her last start, in a Class 3 event over 1007 metres on a Heavy 10 at Taree on April 28.

She settled down as the leader, with the eventual winner Oakfield Badger sitting less than a length away on her outside.

The pair battled it out down the straight before Oakfield Badger edged away to win by 0.39 of a length.

Oakfield Badger is a promising four-year-old gelding trained by Kristen Buchanan at Wyong that has won three times and been placed once from just five starts and is a Taree specialist as well, with two wins and a second from three starts there.

Milligan said he expects Courageous Queen to perform very well again.

“She went super in that race the other day,” he said. “Tried hard and just ran into one that was a little bit better on the day.

“Up in grade here, so it’s a bit harder, but she’s on the minimum weight and she races well at Taree and flies through the heavy going.

“She’s as good as we can get her right now and the jockey (Grant Buckley) has stuck with her from her last start. I’m convinced she’ll be very competitive again.”

Robarge, trained by Terry Evans at Tuncurry, is another that goes into the race with very good form on heavy tracks.

The six-year-old mare did not race on a heavy track in her first 24 starts, but has raced on the heavy in all four starts of her current campaign for two wins and a third.

One of those wins came in a Fillies & Mares Benchmark 58 event over 1000 metres on a Heavy 8 at Taree on March 26.

*Gates open at midday. First race 12.45pm. Admission $10 and $5 concession. Full bar, bistro, TAB and bookmaker facilities. Visit facebook page www.facebook.com/ManningValleyRaceClub for more information.

All the fields, form and replays for Monday's Taree meeting