After 12 years as the dominant training force at his hometown carnival and the Southern Districts Racing Association, Cavanough is moving on to a challenge he describes as “huge”.

He will become Brett Cavanough (Scone) when he takes over the stables previously occupied by another leading NSW country trainer, Greg Bennett.

Cavanough's first move as a trainer from Tocumwal to Albury in 2005 was a raging success with 11 SDRA training premierships and NSW Country Trainer of the Year honours.

Scone, a renowned blueblood thoroughbred region, will be the make-or-break moment in whether Cavanough can join the big boys in the NSW training ranks.

Cavanough will take over 44 boxes at the Bennett stables from April 2 with a high likelihood he will also inherit some of the Scone trainer's horses upon his retirement to take up a role with Aquis Farm.

Cavanough plans to lease another 24 boxes from Easter and he could eventually have 70 horses in work from his new base.

The Hunter is not totally foreign territory to the most successful Riverina trainer since Corowa's Richard Freyer after Cavanough took out the Scone Guineas two years ago with Loved Up.

He will eventually close his Albury operation, but the move won't be immediate.

The only major race to elude Cavanough at the Albury carnival is the Adrian Ledger Memorial.

He doesn't have a runner in the race this year with only a small team entered for his swansong carnival.

“I probably will miss it, but the challenge ahead of me is huge,” Cavanough said.

“It’s what I am more focused on at the moment.

“But don’t worry, I’ve got four runners on Friday and I will be as happy as anyone when one of them wins.

“The Ledger Memorial is the only big race I haven’t won.

“I backed up a maiden in it one day and we ran second or third.

“He hit the front briefly and we nearly tore the grandstand down.​”

Cavanough has rated his top five Albury carnival moments for The Border Mail.

1: FIVE WINNERS IN A DAY

(Cavanough set the first day of the 2007 carnival alight when he trained the first three winners of the meeting before finishing the day with five – Helideck, Steal The Thunder, Briefly, Argung Baby and Barnessa – and a near miss in the City Handicap).

“I trained six in a day at Wagga and thought that was pretty good, but five on a Thursday of an Albury carnival is pretty special.

“I remember Barbara Joseph came down after the City Handicap and called me a bastard because she thought we had beat her with Cafe Bar, but she beat me a whisker.

“Things were happening really fast that particular day.

“Helideck won first up over 1400m and Steal The Thunder, who was a really good horse for me, also won.

“We had some great fun with Helideck up in Queensland one year, but the owner of Steal The Thunder, Hunter Landale, said to me he had to start winning or we would get rid of him.

“We took him to Lockhart and he broke his duck and then won six in a row for memory.”

2: CONTROVERSIAL CUP 2013

(Niblick wins the first Gold Cup decided on protest in the race's 136-year history when first across the line Fabriano is relegated from first to third after a successful protest lodged by the rider of runner, Colesio).

“We had other winners on the day, but there is nothing like standing on the podium with the Albury Cup in your hand.

“People say you won by default. But a win is a win and one thing I do know is he was going well at the time. I remember having $2000 on him at 10/1 at the call of the card the night before.  He was a good horse and everything added up that day.”

3. GUINEAS-FLAT KNACKER DOUBLE 2015

(Cavanough's first winner of the Albury Guineas – Loved Up – was one of his best. Gold Cup day was made extra special when Corsica Lad handed the stable a third successive Flat Knacker win).

“Loved Up was on a real roll at the time.

“She won the Country Championship heat at Wagga when they ran the race for the first time and then she came back here to win the Guineas.

“The late Bede Murray told me he wouldn’t run her in the Guineas, but she won and then went to the championships final in Sydney where she finished sixth.

“She then just got beat in the Wagga Town Plate before coming out and winning the big one, the Scone Guineas.

“Corsica Lad was no slouch either and he would love to be out there again on Friday.

“Richard Bensley had a huge day as he rode both of them and we stuck with him at Scone as well.”

4. THE MONSTAR 2015

(Cavanough had a frustrating run of three runner-up finishes to the City Handicap before The Monstar saluted. But the temptation to back him up in the Flat Knacker 24 hours later was let slip).

“He won the Flat Knacker the year before and to this day he remains a big game performer. He is still going well with his win in the Razor Sharp in town late last year. He has provided the owners with a lot of fun. They are all Albury blokes and just love being involved with a good horse.”

5. WELCOME TO ALBURY 2005

(Cavanough made an instant impression in his new base when he went on a winning spree in the lead-up to the carnival).

“Back then the carnival was held over three days with a prelude meeting a couple of weeks beforehand.

“We had just got here and landed four winners at the first meeting since we got here from Tocumwal. You couldn’t have wished for a better start.

“They were Feed N' Water, who won the Cup Prelude, Tex Tycoon took out the City Handicap Prelude and Pedro’s Belle and Sheedy’s Sheila were the other two.

“I’ve still got the photo of the four winners on the wall of the stables here.”