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By Julieanne Horsman

Veteran Wagga trainer, Peter J Morgan, will have his first tilt a TAB Highway Handicap when he sends Bulala up the Hume to Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The promising gelding has only had five starts and has never finished outside the top three.

His most recent start at Gundagai on 8th June saw him overcome a wide barrier and an impost of 61.5kg to win a CG&E Benchmark 55 1180m by almost a length. “It wasn’t an overly strong race but I think he did really well given the conditions,” Morgan said.

“He pulled up fine and has been training well since.

“He works the track every day and his fitness has improved.”

Bulala will come up against some stiff competition in the Class 3 1200m TAB Highway Handicap but will appreciate the weight relief, dropping right back to 55kg.

While he handles all conditions, his two wins to date have been on soft tracks.

“He’s versatile but we don’t want an absolute bog,” Morgan said.

“He’s not a brilliant beginner and will probably get back but we will aim to have him in a position to come home and a draw on the inner half would help.”

If Bulala manages to win on Saturday, he will be the first Wagga-trained horse to salute in a TAB Highway race.

It would be a feather in the cap for Morgan, who purchased the horse for just a few thousand dollars from Bowness Stud.

"He had a bruise on his knee and no-one wanted him but I thought he was well put together with a beautiful head and I was confident he would get over it," Morgan said.

“When you choose a cheapie and it wins, you feel a sense of achievement for backing your own judgement over anyone else’s.

“I can’t afford to buy the horses I really want so I have to get the best ones I possibly can.

“I expected Bulala to perform and he hasn’t let me down.”

Bulala is raced by Geoff Miller who is a long serving board member of Albury Racing Club. He’s had dozens of horses with Peter J Morgan since the start of his career.

Peter J Morgan has more than four decades of training under his belt, starting out at Albury and moving his base to the Murrumbidgee Turf Club 18 years ago.

View the nominations and form (including race replays) for Saturday's Randwick meeting here.