The six-year-old was in peak condition mid-way through last year and at one stage strung together four straight wins during a white-hot period beginning with a win at Bathurst in August.

Mirfin saw enough in him to give him a tilt at a Benchmark 65 race at Gosford, where he acquitted himself reasonably well to run fourth over 2100 metres, before sending him to the paddock.

His return to the track, one where he has not raced since 2012 when he finished third in his only start, will come in the Benchmark 55 Handicap over 1100m.

Having proven his versatility in winning from 1200 up to 1700m, the distance, or lack of it, shouldn’t be much of a factor.

Apprentice Mitchell Korn will take the ride and his claim will be crucial given that Dashexpress has been given a daunting 62.5 kilos.

Racing in the same event will be another Mirfin runner in four-year-old gelding Carbonite.

He is in his second start back, having run a relatively indifferent race in Parkes late in January after a let-up of 12 weeks prior to that.

Carbonite is chasing his first win since breaking his maiden at Kembla Grange in June last year and with an allotted 61kg, the claim of Eleanor Webster will also be crucial to his chances.

The other Mirfin runner in action on the card is a daughter of Canny Lad out of Witching Ways, four-year-old mare Black Friday in the Benchmark 50 Handicap (1375m).

She has been in work since mid-December and has had a couple of nice results, including a third at Orange on January 14, and she’ll be chasing her first win since a debut triumph at Parkes just over a year ago.

In the same race, fellow Bathurst trainer Peter Stanley saddles up Kahluastorm, who has had two races back from the paddock, including a fourth at the Cowra track last month before struggling at Hawkesbury.

In the longer Benchmark 50 Handicap (1700m) Stanley has five-year-old gelding Strike Power, who has battled since breaking his maiden at Mudgee mid-way through last year.

He is second-up after four weeks off during January, his one race this campaign being an encouraging fourth at Parkes two weeks ago.

The 1200m Maiden Handicap will see Stanley’s three-year-old filly Desert Wildthing line up alongside Don Ryan’s four-year-old mare Just Pay Up, with the latter looking to have claims on the race.

After four trials, Ryan’s mare ran a third and second at Bathurst and Narromine in her first two race starts before being given a brief spell, coming back at Parkes on January 25, where she ran seventh.

Desert Wildthing placed at Wellington on Boxing Day but has run a seventh and ninth since then.

Today’s card kicks off at 1.57pm.