With a top two placing in this Sunday's wild card race at Muswellbrook she can make it a total of three Bathurst-trained horses in the $500,000 final at Randwick.

Press Box had a luckless run when finishing fifth behind Gayna Williams' Healing Hands and Mirfin's Electrified during the Central Districts qualifier.

It was a performance which still drew the approval of her trainer, who believes with the right run she's every chance of being in the hunt this time around.

"She ran great in the qualifier and had no luck at all. She got held up behind other horses," Mirfin said.

"She's only small and she didn't get the galloping room that we were hoping she'd get so we decided that we'd have a go at this race.

"If she runs at her best then she will be very competitive."

There's just one problem - this race is one heck of a high quality affair.

So much so that Mirfin believes this race could be even tougher than the April 4 finale.

Early markets have Mahalangur as a $3 favourite just ahead of fellow 100 benchmark competitor Bobbing.

Mahalangur - who comes across to Cody Morgan from the Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes stable - will be making his first start since July last year but looked superb in his recent trials.

Bernie Kelly's Kosciuszko placegetter Bobbing takes a big step back in grade after racing at Group 2 level and is sure to find the going easier in this event.

Press Box is rated an $18 chance.

"There were horses in this race who will miss out on the final and probably should be there. It's a huge ask to run first or second in this race," he said.

"Those two benchmark 100 horses would have to be the two highest benchmark country horses in New South Wales.

"Obviously they will be enormously hard to beat but there's other horses who won their last start who will be primed for this.

"It will be hard to run in the first 10, that's how hard this race is."

Press Box gets a helping hand with her barrier three start.

If she makes the jump it will give her the opportunity to put herself among the front runners coming into the turn for home.

Chad Lever makes his first start on the mare.

"Chad's been successful for this stable and has ridden a lot of winners and I just thought I'd put an older head on her," Mirfin said.

"You'd like to take advantage of that barrier draw if you can. I'd love to see her parked up close behind the leaders but it's going to be a high pressure race.

"In a race like this, once the barriers open the speed comes from everywhere. It will be fast and furious."

Roy McCabe's I Stole Your Love - a surprise fourth place finisher in the heat for the Bathurst trainer - is the third emergency for the Muswellbrook race.

Bel Diablo, trained by Mudgee's David Smith, is the other runner from the Central West who has booked a start in the wild card event.

The race jumps from 4.45pm this Sunday.