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Hopes are high that a long drought for local stables can be broken in Thursday's $80,000 Carlton Mid Coffs Harbour Gold Cup.

A Coffs Harbour-trained horse has not won the biggest race on the local calendar since 1991 but rarely have the local stables mounted a hallenge as strong as the team they will roll out this year.

In a field of 20 that includes four emergencies Coffs Harbour trainers have five horses that have the form and home track advantage to test the visitors that include runners from leading Sydney and Queensland stables.

The Brett Dodson-trained mare Erinsea, winner of four of her last five starts and never out of a place in seven starts on the Coffs Harbour track, leads the local contingent in the 1600m feature.

Brett Bellamy, the leading country trainer in NSW for the past two seasons, Gorodn Yorke, Trevor Hardy, Peter Goodenough and Takeover Target's trainer Joe Janiak, now a Coffs Harbour resident, are other locals with Cup chances.

The Trevor Hardy-trained Save A Buck won the Sawtell Cup at Coffs Harbour 10 days ago, G1-winning trainer Gordon Yorke relies on One Lickety Split and Bellamy will step the in form Toucan Ukelele up in class after winning three of his last four starts.

Janiak's entry Bondit is the third emergency and may have to settle for a start in the Hospitality Cup, one of the feature races on the first day of the carnival on Wednesday.

The make up of the Coffs Cup field depends on plans for Tamworth-trained Clever Hans and last start Muswellbrook winner Magnolia Lane from the Marc Conners stable at Warwick Farm.

Both horses are acceptors for Wednesday's Hawkesbury meeting but Glenn Lynch (Clever Hans) and Blake Spriggs (Magnolia Lane) have been declared as their riders at Coffs Harbour.

Conners won the Coffs Cup two years ago with Mossurmi, ridden by Danny Nikolic.

Nikolic is returning to ride on both days of the carnival and has picked up a Coffs Harbour Cup ride as a replacement for the injured Glen Colless on the Liam Birchley-trained Pepperwood.

The Ross Stitt-trained topweight Youthful Jack is set to back up from his eighth over 1350m at Doomben last Saturday with apprentice Cassandra Schmidt claiming 2kg to reduce his big handicap of 62kg.

• LEGENDARY MAN was regarded as a pseudo local winner of the 2009 Coffs Cup as he had been trained at the track for much of his career by Ken Lantry.

However when he won the Cup Lantry had left Coffs Harbour and was training Legendary Man from his Newcastle stable.

The last Coffs Harbour-trained Cup winner was Sabre Luck, ridden by a young Glen Colless, in 1991.

$80,000 Coffs Harbour Gold Cup - 1600m