The $50,000 Wild Card Qualifier over 1280 metres at Muswellbrook’s Glencore-Women In Mining Cup meeting on Sunday has been embraced with enthusiasm by owners and trainers from around the state.

The Wild Card was announced after the Port Macquarie Qualifier and offers one final chance, with the first two horses into the final.

Twenty-nine horses have been nominated, the largest number for any of the qualifiers, with Muswellbrook’s hopes resting with the Todd Willan-trained Artlee.

While he might have a home ground advantage, Artlee will face serious opposition from some of country racing’s leading stables.

Artlee ran seventh to Voodoo Lad in the Tamworth qualifier but was never at home on the rain-affected track.

“He didn’t handle it,” Willan said.

“The horse has thrived since Tamworth and it is to our advantage that we only have to walk him across the road.”

Artlee is just the horse that Willan needs as he strives to build up his stable after only taking out his licence two years ago.

The horse has only started six times for three wins including a victory over Voodoo Lad at Scone before Voodoo Lad went on to win the Tamworth Qualifier.

At the start before that, in January, Artlee ran fourth at Randwick. He was beaten by only three quarters of a length after racing wide for most of the trip.

He was one of six horses to hit the line in a blanket finish. Five Canberra trainers, Matthew Dale, Luke Pepper, Norm Gardner, Steven O’Brien and the mother-son partnership of Barbara Joseph and Paul Jones, have nominated horses along with Myffy Rae from Queanbeyan while Orange trainer Lee Van Den Bos has Belfrey Bat entered.

The Bathurst-based Peter Stanley will start King Derota and, if he qualifies, it will be the Cinderella story of the championships.

King Derota cost just $400 as a yearling and has won five races and been placed six times from only 13 starts for more than $60,000 in prize money.

King Derota was scratched at the last minute from the Bathurst Qualifier after rearing over in the gates then escaping.

Stanley is fitting ear muffs for the first time to try and avoid a similar occurrence while the horse has since won a trial, beating the good sprinter Our Canny Boy.

The wild card has also had an unexpected influence on Sunday’s meeting with several visiting trainers nominating horses for other races.

For example, while Joseph and Jones will run Because We All Can in the Wild Card they have nominated three horses for other races - Chasing Charlie for the $20,000 Singleton Cup, Nriangi for the Coal And Allied Benchmark 55 and Cherokee Warrior for the Anglo American-Drayton Community Co-Existence Class One.

“We decided if we are taking one horse to Muswellbrook we might as well take two or three,” Jones said.

“Chasing Charlie might not start because of the quick back up from Bathurst.

“The others are definitely going.”

If Because We All Can wins the Wild Card there will be some wild celebrating within the Joseph and Jones families.

Joseph’s nine brothers and sisters plus other members from both families race the mare.

“Mum and I bought her at Scone and gave shares to all our family members and train her for nothing,” Jones said.

“It is our gift to the two families.”