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Country Championships placegetter I’ve Bean Tryin’ is preparing to face his toughest test yet.
Matthew Kelley has held his trainers' licence for less than a year, but the promising young horseman is already lining up for his second shot at a $500,000 pay day.
Kelley will start progressive gelding I'Ve Bean Tryin' in The Coast (1600m) at Gosford's premier stand-alone meeting, just over a month after he finished an eye-catching third in the $500,000 Country Championships Final (1400m) at Randwick.
In between, Kelley followed his instinct that the four-year-old was looking for further, testing I've Bean Tryin' over a mile at Warwick Farm where the horse posted an emphatic win to earn a shot at Saturday's $500,000 feature.
"He has been looking for the mile all preparation, but we had tunnel vision for the Country Championships over 1400 (metres)," Kelley said.
"After the Champs, that's when I had The Coast circled in the calendar, but I didn't want to go straight to The Coast because it would have been five weeks between runs.
"I wanted to give him another run to keep his fitness up and it had to be over the mile so I could really tick that box for him.
"After Warwick Farm, as soon as he got that win, I said, 'that's where we're going with him'."
I've Bean Tryin's rise has almost mirrored that of his 26-yer-old trainer.
After ditching a career in building to operate a small satellite stable in Canberra for his father, Cooma trainer David, Kelley took a leap of faith and applied for his own licence at the end of last season.
I've Bean Tryin' is his flagship horse and while Kelley recognises how fortunate he is to get such a talent so early in his career, he is also putting in the hard yards.
"I sit down most nights and I do a lot of planning, not only with him but with all the horses in my stable," he said.
"I only have ten in work and that's a good number for me. I'm a very hands-on trainer and I ride them all.
"I'm obviously still learning but thus far, I think we've pulled the right strings with this horse and hopefully people might see that and we might pick up a few horses with similar ability down the track."
I've Bean Tryin' has been settling back in his races from wide gates but over 1600m on the tight-turning Gosford circuit, he will be ridden more positively on Saturday.
He is a $17 in pre-post markets which have the Annabel Neasham-trained Military Expert a $5.50 favourite in an open betting race.