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New contenders for the Country Championships at Randwick emerged at the Taree meeting on February 2.

Port Macquarie-trained pair Miss Money Talks and Shotgun Roulette and Gosford’s Single And Free are now in the mix for the rich series after impressive performances at the Taree meeting.

However Sheza Gypsy, the 2015 winner of the $100,000 Country Championship qualifier at Port Macquarie, was a dismal flop and is likely to be spelled instead of chasing this year’s series.

Encouraging runs by Hippy High Ho and Art’s Got A Gun also put them in the mix for the $100,000 qualifier at Taree on February 28 where eligible horses trained in the Mid North Coast Racing Association will be vying for a place in the $400,000 Country Championships Final at Randwick on April 2.

Gosford-trained Single And Free is eligible for the $400,000 Provincial Championships Final on April 9 and will need to qualify through one of the heats at a provincial track.

The Four-year-old mare Miss Money Talks did it the hard way to come from near last to score by a long neck for trainer Glen Hodge and jockey Vad Bolozhinskyi over 1255m.

Hodge said his mare had come back from a spell much stronger at only her sixth start and would now contest a prelude race to the championship heat over 1300m on February 16.

Single And Free, trained by Angela Davies and ridden by top apprentice Samantha Clenton, was having her first start and was impressive scoring by just under a length over 1005m.

Stable foreman Peter Brown said the filly was on track for the Provincial Championship and had won a trial prior to coming to Taree.

Clenton was also the rider of three-year-old filly Shotgun Roulette, trained by Wayne Wilkes for a maiden win over 1255m.

Wilkes’ only concern is that the one win so far may move his filly down the order to get a start in the qualifier and he will try to boost his hopes with by starting in the Prelude on February 16.

Hippy High Ho, trained at Port Macquarie by Neil Godbolt, proved too strong to score by just over two lengths over 1255m.

The colt is by Manton out of Hippy’s Sister which won eight races, three of them in Sydney, for Godbolt.