Track manager James Hibberd said he would be monitoring the track around the clock leading into the cup.

“I’m fairly hopeful we should be able to get it to a good rating for Friday,” he said.

“At this stage its about doing all the right things to get it there. There are a lot of procedures to follow and I do a lot of homework to make sure everything is as good as it can be.”

It is a busy week for Hibberd who was also looking after the track at the Horsham Harness Racing Club’s meet on Monday.

He said the track was looking green, lush and in fine condition at that point.

“The grass coverage is really good at this stage of our preparations,” he said.

“The little bit of rain that has been around really helps out in that department and things look to be clearing up as the week progresses.”

Horsham and District Racing Club manager Lisa Inkster said preparations for the meet were also going well off the track.

“As well as being good for the track the rain will mean everything is looking great trackside,” she said. “It’s shaping up to be a really busy day. We’ve got some special deals on at the moment which are doing really well.”

Nominations for the meet closed midday Monday. Among the 18 nominations for the cup was 2015 and 2016 winner Magic Consol, trained by Paul Preusker, and Patch Adams, trained by Terry and Katrina O’Sullivan, who will look to improve on its third placing from 2016.

Dane Smith’s Mujadale, winner of the 2017 Stawell Gold Cup, and Something to Share have also been nominated for the $50,000 feature race. Acceptances will be made official on Wednesday morning with riders to be confirmed at 12.30pm the same day.

Hibberd said he thought the the public holiday would be great for the day.

“I won’t be getting any rest though,” he said. “It’s full steam ahead on cup day as we continue to monitor the track during the day.”