It might be Cup day at Coonabarabran in central-western NSW, but the feature sprint looks the highlight as a group of high-class country gallopers clash again in what has become a rolling series of battles around the bush.

The curtain-raiser to the cup over 1100m brings many of the better-performed fancies together early in their preparations and ties in several similar form-lines.

A few runners, including eight-year-old Dubbo gelding Kenny Succeed and seven-year-old Forbes gelding Molasses, who won it, come out of the Crystal Sprint at Coonamble, while highly rated Tamworth geldings Over And Above and Folkstone come through the Spring Cup at Scone early last month. Mudgee mare Our Dasha backs up from the Denman Cup at Muswellbrook, while big-finishing Tamworth seven-year-old Under The Thumb returns from a metropolitan raid on the Kensington track.

The records of the contenders are impressive. Over And Above has four wins and five placings from   12 starts, Our Dasha six and five from 18, Molasses eight and seven from 33, Westlink five and five from 18, De La Hoya six and seven from 23  and, topping the lot, Folkstone   has only missed a place four times in 26 starts for the Luke Morgan stable, with 11 wins and 11 placings.