The Rob Wellington-trained Smiler Marshall in career best form ahead of Albury assignment

Wellington cited the step-up to open company, coming back in distance and a disadvantage at the weights as three of the biggest obstacles the stable's in-form sprinter will have to navigate.

Smiler Marshall will also be on the quick back-up after running second to the Tim Donnelly-trained sprinter Participator over the second day of the Wagga carnival last Friday over (1200m).

Despite the odds being stacked against Smiler Marshall, Wellington said the chance to race for big prizemoney on the stable's home track was too hard to ignore.

Claiming apprentice Fiona Sandkuhl once again takes the mount after being aboard the galloper at his past four starts.

"Smiler Marshall is racing well at the moment and has two wins and a second for his past three starts," Wellington said.

"We were rapt with his performance over the Wagga carnival last Friday where he was stepping up in grade but was still ultra-competitive.

"He seems to race well for Fiona because he can be a horse that gets his head up during the run.

"Last-start he probably went a fraction too fast in the lead but Fiona felt that if she had of restrained him that he would have thrown his head up.

"The drop back to 1000m isn't ideal but he has drawn a nice enough barrier (6) to either find the front or race prominently.

"He doesn't have to lead to win and there looks to be a fair bit of speed in the race and we might be better of taking a sit.

"It took a nice horse to run him down at Wagga but we are stepping up to an open handicap on Friday which is a steep rise in grade."

In what looks the toughest race on the eight-race card, Smiler Marshall is being kept safe in early markets and is quoted as a $6-chance.

The Scott McIntosh-trained Lady Solly is the $4.60-favourite, followed by the Mitch Beer-trained duo of Hardware Lane ($5) and Seventh Seal ($5.50).

Wellington said the quick back-up shouldn't be an issue for Smiler Marshall.

"The horse has pulled up well after his Wagga run and only has to go over the road to race," he said.

"He has had a bit of a freshen-up so far this week and looks well in himself.

"So fingers crossed he can run well again.

"This race wasn't initially on the radar but we looked at the calendar after he raced last Friday and there wasn't any suitable races for him locally over the next month.

"So we decided to raise the bar, we expect he will prove to be competitive.

"We will reassess where we go after tomorrow but he might go for a freshen-up."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: