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Australia's best jockeys will scatter all around the country in search of feature-race success this weekend, but a frozen out Brenton Avdulla is adamant he can do "as good a job as anyone" as he seeks to sew up Sydney's off-season riding market.
By his own admission languishing without a winter carnival horse this season, Avdulla has commanded rare rides from premier stables Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse at the rescheduled Hawkesbury Guineas and Darley Crown program at Rosehill on Saturday.
Avdulla can vault past Tye Angland, who is set to ride on the Doomben Cup card in Brisbane, into fifth on the Sydney premiership as the cluster of top four riders – James McDonald, Hugh Bowman, Blake Shinn and Tommy Berry – also head north.
And the four-time group 1 winner remains bullish about his current form despite the gap between Sydney's top quartet and the chasers seeming as pronounced as ever.
"If I could get the opportunities that the top four have, I've got no doubt I could measure up and be in the top five [of the premiership]," Avdulla said.
"But if I've only ridden two winners for trainers in the top five [this season] it's hard to get the ball rolling, so I've got to base myself on those trainers just outside the top five.
"I don't think there's much between the top eight or 10 [riders] ability wise – it's all about the opportunity. And if you've got the quality rides coming through it's going to make your job a lot easier.
"I think I'm riding at the peak of my ability at the moment. Obviously I've got a fair way to go and I need to keep learning, but I think at the moment I'm in a zone where I'm feeling good on them, I'm confident and if I get the right opportunities I will do just as good a job as anyone else in Australia.
"Hopefully this opens up those opportunities where your Chris Wallers, Gai Waterhouses and Joe Prides ... I can get a couple of rides for them over the next month and get a bit of a relationship there."
Despite being likely to end the season without a group 1 winner, Avdulla is on track to record a career-best haul in terms of overall winners and strike rate when records are stored on July 31.
The Hawkesbury Guineas and Darley Crown present a chance of a feature race double for Avdulla, who will ride Eisenhower for Waterhouse in the former before linking with his No.1 supporter, Gerald Ryan, on Peace Force, in the fillies and mares highlight.
Peace Force will resume after being nosed out in Gosford's Belle Of The Turf last campaign by Waller's Mamwaazel, also a Darley Crown hopeful.
The five-year-old hasn't been seen at the trials this campaign, but Avdulla remains confident she can figure first-up.
"She's definitely a stakes mare and deserves her chance in a race like this on Saturday," he said. "I'll be riding her positively, rolling forward and seeing where she ends up. It's a different sort of race to what it was going to be on Saturday.
"There's a few horses that have probably taken the Scone option instead of this week, but my mare is going really well and I think she can definitely run a really, really big race."
Imported grey Silverball, one of four rides Avdulla can boast for tearaway premiership leader Waller to prop up his full book, was closing in on favouritism for the listed Lord Mayor's Cup, at $8 with Ladbrokes on Thursday evening.
"I think he's started favourite every run in Australia and he ran well first-up," Avdulla said. "The 2000 [metres] won't pose a problem, but the wide barrier is a little bit of a concern. He deserves his chance in a race like that and I'm sure he'll run well."
