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By Geoff Newling

Barry Lockwood took Skytrek and Cashing Up to snare a double at the Ballina Cup meeting and returns to the Northern Rivers on Thursday chasing another double with the pair when Lismore Turf Club stages its 2017 Lismore Cup Carnival.

Cashing Up won the Ballina Cup for Eagle Farm-based Lockwood while Skytrek won the 2200m staying race. On Thursday they have both drawn barrier four and will be ridden by Michael Cahill but this time they swap feature races with Skytrek to contest the $60,000 XXXX Gold Lismore Showcase Cup (2100m) and Cashing Up the topweight in the eight-horse $30,000 Lismore Workers Club Rousillon Showcase Handicap (1516m).

“That was good,” Barry Lockwood said after learning of their good (4) barrier draws. “Michael Cahill is going to ride both as well. They are both going nicely, particularly Skytrek. He’s improved and doing things well. Cashing Up is always pretty well but it is a big jump for Skytrek but he has handled things so well this time in. He’s a good-winded horse.”

He’s also a “carrot thief” and continues to amaze and entertain Lockwood and his staff with his predilection for carrots. “He’s a lunatic,” he said after recounting Skytrek’s most recent escapade to capture a carrot.

“Of the two runners he’s been going ahead but he has to step up to a much better grade (in the Cup). Cashing Up goes up 6kg too but that’s because of the grade of the race too. It’s a much weaker race than the Ballina Cup but he’ll be there.”

Lockwood, who hails from Tamworth where he started as a trainer but had stints at Rosehill and Port Macquarie before landing in Brisbane, doesn’t mind Lismore either.

“I’ve won a few races there,” he said. “Haven’t won the Cup but I might have only ever had one runner.”

He’s hoping his carrot thief can purloin the Cup and make it border hopping bust. While his two horses drew well in barrier four for the Cup and Rousillon last year’s cup winner, Collaboration, jumps from barrier 17 while topweight Cauthen’s Power, goes from 14.

Joanna Hardy trains Collaboration and she has a big task on her hands to make it back to back with a horse who drew barrier four last year and won by 10 and a half lengths on a Heavy 8 track. He has not won since that Cup success.

Lismore Turf Club secretary manager, Scott Jones, is confident the club will have 100 runners for Cup and seven $30,000 Showcase support races.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Lismore's Country Showcase meeting here