Trainer Mark Ganderton with Catwen Boy. Picture: WILL SWAN
SPREYTON trainer Mark Ganderton has wanted to win his home-town cup for as long as he can remember.
On Wednesday, he may just have the perfect chance.
Ganderton's fancy and Sheffield Cup winner Catwen Boy sits on the second line of betting with Fieldmaster behind the raging $3 favourite The Cleaner.
"At the end of the day I can only train my horse and my horse is great," Ganderton said.
"He's perfect and the best he has ever been, but whether we can beat The Cleaner I don't know - time will tell.
"This is the Devonport Cup and there is no place for the faint-hearted out there, come Wednesday, it is a $100,000 race and that's how everyone treats it."
Ganderton has trained Catwen Boy since he was bought as a yearling five years ago and finished second to Dream Flyer last year, before having an operation to remove chipped fragments from his fetlocks.
"Everything so far has gone according to plan and he is hitting his straps at the right time," Ganderton said.
"The Devonport Cup means so much to me and, honestly, I don't know anyone where a race means so much to them.
"Even as a kid growing up working for Barry Campbell I always wanted to strap the winner of the Devonport Cup and now I'm training - all I want to do is win one."
Ganderton has trained two seconds and a fourth from five runners during his 15-year career, so if averages are anything to go by, he is a chance to feature on the podium somewhere.
The 10-race program starts at 12.30pm with the big race scheduled for 4.42pm.
