Jockey Aaron Bullock will get the chance to ride in the Country Championship final at Randwick after all.
Bullock rode Pera Pera to win a heat of the series last week but the Mack Griffith-trained gelding will be ridden by premier Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman in the final.
Justin Stanley, trainer of Sunday’s Dubbo heat winner Something Borrowed, said he hoped Bullock would stick with the gelding.
“I can’t wait to go to Sydney and I hope Aaron will ride him,” Stanley said.
“He is riding really well.”
Something Borrowed ($4.60) beat the Peter Nestor-trained Not A Shadow ($31) by a half length with both qualifying for the $400,000 final on April 2.
It was an emotional win for Stanley who took over the training of Something Borrowed from John McKinnon who has been been ill.
“This is my career biggest win and he is a good little bush horse,” he said.
For his part, Bullock said he would be more than happy to go to the final.
At Wyong on Sunday, Kim Waugh added to her team for the Provincial Championship final when Hetty Heights won the heat transferred from Wednesday’s washed-out Newcastle meeting.
The Waugh-trained Supreme Effort and His Majesty had already qualified.
Hetty Heights is now the $6 equal favourite with His Majesty after her beating Marple Miss by 1-1/2 lengths on the wet track.
The Kris Lees-trained Marple Miss and her stablemate Electric Power, who ran third, both qualify for the final on April 9.
“I’m over the moon,” Waugh said.
“They are very similar, all three of them, and they’ve all got a great turn of foot.
“It will come down to barriers.”