"We brought Redhead Rage up for the Cup in 2008 and he finished sixth; but the following year, we decided to bring Hawks Bay to Darwin. He won the Guineas and the Derby in 2009, before finishing second in the Cup, behind Activation."

Speaking of Hawks Bay, who won the Bernborough Club Cup (1000m) on June 18, the five-year-old gelding is top weight for today's Chief Minister's Cup (1600m), in which he will carry an imposing 63kg.

Stablemate Palmyra Boy, an impressive winner of the NT-TAB ROANT Cup (1300m) a fortnight ago, was Dyer's pick when it came to splitting the two former Darwin Cup runners for the Chief Minister's Cup. "I'm happy with both horses and I'm looking forward to the race. But I just think that Palmyra Boy will handle the mile a lot better," he said.

"However, Hawks Bay - especially in a small field - won't be far away and he could be hard to hold out; but he's spotting Palmyra Boy 6 1/2 kilograms."

Of the others in the seven-horse field, the Kyneton-based trainer said that Viv Oldfield-trained Alice Springs eight-year-old gelding Sound Of Nature was perhaps the biggest threat.

"Sound Of Nature ran a great race in the ROANT Cup to finish second; and I'll be keeping an eye on him, as I rate him the biggest danger," Dyer said.

Story courtesy of David White, NT News