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By Greg Prichard

Dual licensee Peter Graham is sticking strictly to the riding half of the equation at Tuesday’s Taree race meeting and is in such demand that he’ll be legged up in each of the five races for five different trainers.

The non-TAB meeting on the first Tuesday in November is always a big one for the club, with locals regularly flocking to it to dress up and enjoy a great day out with friends.

Graham, a popular veteran of the racing industry on the Mid North Coast who is licensed to train and ride and has a small stable of horses in work, thinks his last ride of the day - Bartender Blues, for trainer Luke Thomas in the R & L Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Pty Ltd Benchmark 50 Handicap over 1600m - is his best chance of landing a winner.

But he advised that with the rail out 5m from its normal position, any on-course patrons who might fancy Bartender Blues should observe the pattern of racing in the earlier events to see if any horses are coming from off well off the pace to be in the finish.

There'll be racing action at Taree on Tuesday

“Bartender Blues gets back and when the rail’s out that far at Taree the track can play a bit funny,” Graham said. “Horses that tend to be up near the front seem to keep going. It can be hard to come from behind sometimes.”

Graham rode six-year-old gelding Bartender Blues at each of its last two starts, for a sixth of 10 in a Class 1 race over 1700m at Grafton on September 27 and a fifth of 13 in a Class 1 over 1800m at Port Macquarie on October 8.

At the last Taree meeting, on October 14, Graham pulled off an extraordinary double by training the second-last winner – Gold Card, ridden by Anna Roper – and then riding Salad Dodger to win the last for trainer Colt Prosser.

Among his other rides on Tuesday is Dusty Rubble for Karen Outtrim in the Glass 24/7 Maiden Plate over 1000m.

“Dusty Rubble’s mostly been racing at the provincials recently,” Graham said. “It’s mostly finished well back, but it’s a big drop in class back to a non-TAB meeting so it would have some hope.

“It’s always a good day at this meeting. A lot of people get there to enjoy a drink and just have a bit of fun. They always get a good crowd, so it’s a really good day for the club.”

*Entry tickets for just $10 are available online at the Manning Valley Race Club’s Facebook site, or $15 at the gate. Gates open at 11:30am.

All the action from Randwick and Flemington on the big screen. Food vans, bookmakers and TAB facilities.

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