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By Geoff Newling

Wyong trainer Damien Lane could continue his winning Country Showcase ways at Tamworth on Friday when he starts up to three of his stable at the Tradies Day meeting.

Lane, who prepared a winning double at the Showcase Coonamble meeting on Sunday including the feature Coonamble Cannonball sprint with Kanguru, has nominated Choice Larga, Cervinia and Mosaytion for Friday’s Tradies Day Showcase meeting at Tamworth.

While Choice Larga may not start, Cervinia and Mosaytion are almost certain to go around the well-travelled Wyong trainer said.

“Choice Larga may go to Canterbury next Wednesday,” he said of a gelding who was also topweight for today’s TLE Newcastle Handicap at Broadmeadow.

“I thought hard about Tamworth. We’ll see what weight he gets. He’ll probably get 59kg at Canterbury next week too.

“Cervinia and Mosaytion will both go up. She was going really well,” he said of Somerton Cup winning Cervinia. “She won the three starts in a row but then she drew wide at Newcastle.”

Cervinia finished seventh at Newcastle and might have just the one more run after Tamworth before spelling. He will make a decision with her but it’s unlikely she will run in the transferred Gunnedah Cup that she had been aimed at but she could also run in the Curlewis Cup (1600m) at Gunnedah on July 7.

“If she draws badly at Tamworth I might freshen her up and run her at Gunnedah in that Curlewis Cup,” he said.

Lane’s double at Coonamble last Sunday continues a great season for him. He’s currently running second to Kim Waugh in the Wyong trainer’s premiership and has tallied 30 winners this season. Lane grew up at Coonamble and winning the John and Colleen Lundholm Memorial Cannonball carried great significance for him.

“I grew up just down the road from John and Colleen,” he said. “Young John and the two girls were there on Sunday too. It was a special day to win that race and then make it a double.”

Travelling has been part and parcel of his recent training career: “I bought a Mazda BT50 two years ago and its done just on 97,000kms so far,” he said. “I don’t mind the travelling. It’s four hours up to Tamworth, two hours to Muswellbrook and bit a more to Scone, two and half to Taree, three and a half to Port and 90 minutes to Rosehill and Randwick.”

It was six hours back home to Coonamble but he made a weekend of it going Friday, giving his two runners a day to recover on Saturday, racing and celebrating Sunday and then returning to his Wyong stable Monday.

“I couldn’t do it without good staff though,” he said. While he has three good, permanent staff he also has his trump card and partner, Kate (Moore). “She’s amazing,” Damien said. “She runs the barn when I’m not there and rides work as well.”

View the nominations with full form & race replays for Tamworth here