There is no better name for a Monday feature in spring than the Jungle Juice Cup, and the brew is set to taste perfect for connections of a promising and lightly raced five-year-old which can claim the traditional Cessnock closer.

So Bizarre, a gelded son of American sire Dream Ahead and trained by Clare Cunningham, resumed off a year-long break with a solid on-speed effort in smart metro company three weeks back, and drops 3.5kg from that effort today over an ideal longer journey.

The big dangers are likely to be high-class Port Macquarie six-year-old I Wanna Be A Jeep, which comes in off a very good run in the Denman Cup at Muswellbrook, and improving five-year-old Newcastle gelding Sausalito.

Earlier, there’s a spicy appetiser in the Cessnock Cup for the stayers, with seven-year-old Rosehill gelding Zaunkonig out to defy a big rise in weight and collect another country cup. A month back Zaunkonig made the Bathurst Cup a one-act affair before finding the big step up in class to the Port Macquarie Cup too tough, but he looks much better placed back in this company with the winkers going on, despite soaring 7kg to 61kg.

Meanwhile, he may jump the shortest-priced favourite all week and is destined for better, but form students will be running a close eye over US-bred four-year-old Tapiconic which returns for a second prep off a lengthy break as a gelding in a modest maiden.

A powerful striding son of Tapit, Tapiconic showed enormous potential back in autumn winning a trial by nearly nine lengths before three fast-finishing runs at the provincials and at Canterbury to start his career. But the-then three-year-old colt was still green and often wayward, and he was quickly put away, gelded and given plenty of time to mature.

Supplied by Racing NSW