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Trainers Clinton Taylor and Wayne Winters hope to give jockeys Ash Butler and apprentice Marnu Potgieter a cause to celebrate at Mackay on Thursday.
Both riders won their respective premierships in Mackay last season and have races named in their honour at the upcoming meeting.
Butler will ride the Clinton Taylor-trained The Egyptian in the 1100-metre Jockey Of Year – Ash Butler Open Handicap while Potgieter will be legged up on the Wayne Winters-trained She's Maganda in the Apprentice Of Year- Marnu Potgieter Class 3 Plate over the same distance.
Premiership winning trainer Trinity Bannon won't have a starter in the Trainer Of Year – Trinity Bannon Benchmark 60 Handicap over 1800 metres.
The Egyptian gave Taylor his first winner of the new racing season leading all the way for apprentice Alisha Ross over 1050 metres at Rockhampton on August 3.
However, Butler has been The Egyptian's regular rider and has an impressive strike rate of three wins and two seconds from five rides on the former Victorian.
The five-year-old has found a new lease of life in central Queensland since transferring stables at the start of the year and has won five times and finished second on another three occasions in only nine starts for Taylor.
Taylor, 36, has only been training less than three years and is one of the rising young stars coming through the central Queensland training ranks.
A former jockey beaten by weight, Taylor has 20 horses in work and is looking forward to the new racing season after finishing his second full season on a high.
Meanwhile Winters believes She's Maganda should prove a good eachway chance following the mare's last start third to I'm Jacko at Rockhampton on August 19.
"Her last run was okay but she race too close and is a better chaser," Winters said.
"If she can't settle off the speed a bit more, she'll finish off strongly and should be a good eachway chance."
Winters rated topweight Avocado Sunset as her main threat following the gelding latest third behind Lady Lowburn in an 1100-metre Class 3 at Callaghan Park earlier this month.
