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By Tony Megahey

Tough gelding Tags, pivotal in one of the unluckiest episodes in regional racing, makes an intriguing return after a year’s absence into a hot TAB Highway at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

Tags ($21 on TAB), who qualified for the Country Championships Final in February of last year, went amiss and hasn’t raced since a Highway at headquarters last July.

Tags (Grant Buckley) parades at Hawkesbury. Image by Bradley Photographers

The horse is an outsider for accomplished Gayna Williams, however, the booking of Group One-winning rider Danny Beasley off successive city winning doubles is an alert for a forward showing.

Three-race winning Tags carries 58kg in a strong $120,000 Class 3, 1100m flyer with seven last start winners.

It sees the highly anticipated return of unbeaten Mogo Magic ($1.90 into $1.85 favourite) off a brilliant trial; a pronounced favourite and leading contender for The Kosciuszko.

But Gayna is positive enough as Tags has won and been placed first-up and has been in work a while.

“He’s had surgery for issues and obviously a long time off - hasn’t had a trial but he’s come back really well, his work has been good at home,” Gayna offered from her Bathurst stables.

“The 1100m is short of his best but he’s just so tough and genuine and this is the starting point this prep while he’s still eligible.”

Tags is all of that with three wins from 15 starts and six placings.

However, the misfortune of Gayna can’t be understated in the wake of her quinella in the Championships qualifier at Mudgee last season with classy Zoo Station who edged out the powerful Tags.

When both went amiss and were forced scratchings just days before the big occasion, the feelings for the regional racing doyen were heartfelt and widespread.

Compounding all, Zoo Station broke down two weeks later after her sixth win from 12 starts at Hawkesbury and had to be retired. The then four-year-old mare could have been anything.

“She was a fantastic mare; her owners are going to breed with her.”

Meanwhile, at his best Tags has a big finish and is well placed in a Class 3 with three wins, his second to Zoo Station and a Canterbury Park BM midweek placing.

And if he wins another country race he’s ineligible, so the level of prizemoney and far less weight than the regionals is the logic.

It’s the strongest Highway of recent times. Aside from Mogo Magic, prolific series winner Matthew Dunn has accepted with Emperor ($5.50) a valuable three-old old colt by I Am Invincible who has led to win a Doomben double by a total of seven plus lengths.

After two years training at Warwick Farm, Dunn closed down for economic reasons. And training out of Murwillumbah he’s again eligible for Highways.

Meanwhile, Rosehill Gardens is a Good 4 with light rain falling.

View final fields with full form & race replays for Rosehill Gardens here