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Randwick trainer John Sargent is hoping to make another successful north coast assault on Sunday with his first starter in the $80,000 Taree Cup.

The former leading Kiwi trainer had his first runners at a Taree meeting last month and came away with one win from his three starters.

Sargent may have been testing the water as he is set to return for Sunday’s $80,000 Stacks Law Firm Taree Cup (2000m), the feature race of the Taree carnival that starts with the Hopkins Livermore Cup meeting on Friday.

Sargent nominated last start Newcastle winner Paragon and the lightly-raced Elusive Runner for the Taree Cup but will put his faith in the latter horse with Blake Sprigs booked for the ride.

Paragon and Elusive Runner are acceptors for the $85,000 Randwick Mayor’s Cup over 2400m at Randwick on Saturday but Sargent said he wanted to split the pair.

“Paragon will run over 2400m at Randwick and Elusive Runner can go to Taree,” Sargent said.

Sargent said the 2400m at Randwick was more suitable for Paragon after his last start win over 3200m at Newcastle by seven lengths.

Elusive Runner has been lightly raced with just 10 starts for a win and four placings. He has been improved by four starts since resuming from a spell and will be backing up from a seventh behind Dubaiinstyle over 2000m at Rosehill last Saturday.

The increased prizemoney for the Taree Cup has attracted a strong field with the Kris Lees stablemates Slow Pace (Robert Thompson) and Olympic Academy (Aaron Bullock) heading the field from recent city winners Get On The Grange (Josh Parr), Pirate Ben and Braces (Winona Costin).

Lees won his first Taree Cup two years ago with Slivovitz. Thompson has won the race twice but it has been 26 years since his last success in 1990.

Andrew Gibbons won the 2014 Taree Cup for Lees on Slivovitz but will oppose the stable on Sunday after taking the mount on the Ken Lantry-trained Egyptian Ruler.

Egyptian Ruler is primed for Sunday’s race after a bold fourth behind Dubaiinstyle at Rosehill last Saturday when having his first start since an excellent fifth in last month’s Grafton Cup.

Local hopes rest with the Alan Kehoe-trained Get On The Grange, a recent Sydney and Queensland winner who is raced by a syndicate of owners from Taree and Wingham, and Halfway To Heaven, trained at Taree by Bob Haire.

A win by Halfway To Heaven would be a big lift for Haire as he has been in ill health.