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By Tony Megahey

Amidst a phenomenal training season, Brett Robb’s emotions flowed as he outlined the final racing campaign for nine-year-old marvel A Magic Zariz to be ridden by rookie apprentice Jake Barrett at Sunday’s booming Gunnedah Showcase Cup and Lightning Stakes TAB meeting.

A Magic Zariz, will be a sentimental crowd favourite as he resumes from a lengthy spell in the $32,000 James Bradford Rural Lightning Showcase 1000m, and Dubbo’s Robb says he’s relatively well weighted despite a massive 63kg reduced by the 3kg claim for first-season apprentice Jake Barrett.

A Magic Zariz (Casey Waddell) heads to the barriers at Canterbury Park. Image by Bradley Photographers

A Magic Zariz has 13 career wins from 53 starts, numerous Country Cups, 16 placings and whose to say not more to come?

“The old boy is as good a bush galloper as I’ve seen in my time and a lot of other racing people I reckon - we love him.

"He was weighted on 65kg in last year’s Coonamble Cannonball, massive run, we’ve set him for it again,” enthused Brett Robb, whose 51 season wins, an incredible 22% winning strike rate and 46% the place is the finest anywhere.

“Yep we’ve had some luck,” offered a humble Brett in some understatement.

In his second season since moving from Nyngan and now with 30 plus gallopers at Dubbo. From where there’s been a virtual conveyor belt of winners.

Last year could well have been the final one for A Magic Zariz when he suffered a severe virus. But with the resilience of a barbed wire fence, the veteran marvel recovered.

“He was seriously crook, it took us near six months to get him right, but the tough old bugger wanted to race, and it was a massive run in that Cannonball, got beat a neck, gave the winner eight kgs.

“Look, the younger sprinters will probably go too quick for him around Gunnedah, but you never know, his work has been good, he’s sound, happy and Jake has ridden him a lot in work.”

Barrett with just five winners is on loan from Kim Waugh at Wyong. Brett is seriously outnumbered by the bigger regional stables who are out in force.

The Cavanough, Crockett, Morgan, Grills and Northam stables are represented throughout a capacity eight-race program.

Cody Morgan’s Ice In Vancouver, who contested last season’s The Kosciuszko, is the sprinter to beat resuming and set for the Lightning after a dominant win in at $1.60 in the Tamworth Newmarket in December.

The speedster trialled brilliantly at Tamworth last month. City winner Two Big Fari ($6 on TAB) is the class runner in the Mannion Drilling $40,000 Gunnedah Showcase Cup (1600m), scratched from a recent Sydney meeting and set for this with a 2.5kg claim for Madeline Owen off an allocated 63.5kg.

At present Gunnedah is a Soft 6 in fine weather with some showers expected on Saturday.

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