Stanley has trained horses all over the state, including for a time here in Orange.

Now with the Mudgee Cup on the horizon, he is hoping to beat out some of the sport's finest.

His mare The Long Run will line up alongside 11 other hopefuls on Friday afternoon as Stanley looks for his horse's fine form to continue.

"She's a pretty casual, easy to train mare and she is primed for this," he said.

"It will be a bit tougher with all the city horses in the race, but i'm not feeling any pressure and I'd say she isn't either."

READ MORE: Molong and Orange City to meet in the Royal Hotel Cup

Stanley is the only country trainer in a field that features names such as Gai Waterhouse and Bjorn Baker.

With the Mudgee Cup (1600 metres) being a longer run than his horse is used to, you would think there might be a bit of worry.

But that's not Stanley's style.

"She's only raced one distance over 1600 metres and she won it by about three lengths," he said.

So who has he tasked with trying to bring home the first place prize of $35,250? None other than his grandson Dylan.

"Ashley, my daughter, usually rides her and she's generally pretty handy," Stanley added.

"But she now has an injured ankle. Dylan has only had a handful of rides, but got his first win with her at the end of November in Narromine."

READ MORE: Woodbridge Cup down to nine clubs after Burrangong pull out, door to any club open

That made it victory number eight for the mare and Stanley believes she'll be the envy of many a trainer.

"A lot of people would love to have her in their shed," he said.

For the race itself, there is little to no rain expected, but with overcast conditions, anything is possible.

"A drop of rain certainly wouldn't hurt," Stanley said.

"But she's a versatile mare and she can handle all sorts of different surfaces. I haven't been out to the track yet, but i'm sure it will be good for the cup.

"All Dylan needs to do is keep her calm and we should be alright. A bit of luck won't hurt either."

Oddsmakers TAB have The Long Run - with the mare to run out of lane four - at $11 to win the race, which lands her smack bang in the middle of the pack.

Mookareena from the Barbara Joseph, Paul and Matt Jones' (Canberra) stable has drawn barrier one, alongside Nicole Hudson's (Newcastle) Invicta in two and Claire Lever's (Hawkesbury) Highly Desired in three.

Regular Mudgee visitor Kris Lees has two chances in the Cup with High Opinion and six-year-old Chalmers.

Petrology (Nathan Doyle), Regal Stage (Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bolt), Radipole (Matthew Smith), Shock Alert (Bjorn Baker), No Escape (Terry Croft), and Song One (Bryan Dixon) round out the remainder of the field.

The first race on December 4 at the Mudgee Racecourse will jump at 1.04pm with the barriers to free for the Mudgee Cup at 4.44pm.

The Central Western Daily relies on your support to keep doing what we do. If you're not already a subscriber, please consider coming on board. For as little as $3 a week for full digital access, a subscription represents great value.