Sydney premiership winning jockey Nash Rawiller is the latest hoop to confirm he will be heading to Darwin for the $175,000 Darwin Cup.

Rawiller will join fellow metropolitan jockeys Kerrin McEvoy and Steven Arnold as confirmed riders in the Cup.

Rawiller will be aboard the vastly improved Blackbriar who has turned his career around since transferring to Melinda Boothby’s Darwin stables.

Blackbriar has won four races since moving to Darwin in February. That’s not a bad effort for a horse that had only won four races in the previous three years.

The five year old recently finished third in the Alice Springs Cup, which Rawiller said was excellent form heading into a race like the Darwin Cup.

“The Alice Springs Cup is like the Caulfield Cup for the Melbourne Cup, it’s the best guide to the Darwin Cup,” Rawiller said.

“If you go well in the Alice you have a little freshen up and come back for the Darwin Cup.”

Rawiller also said that he was not concerned by the fact that most of Blackbriar’s best form had come over the sprint distances, saying that he believed the horse had matured and would be suited by the step up to 2000m.

“I’ve watched replays of his races in Melbourne when he was running over 1900m and he’s shown enough to be competitive. I think he’s a nice ride.” Rawiller said.

Rawiller also commented on the affection he has for the Darwin Cup carnival, saying he makes an effort to head north every year.

“The cup is a race I really want to win,” he said.

“I’ve been heading up there almost every year for the last six or seven years but have been limited in the rides I could take because of the weights.”

Rawiller will ride at 55kg in the Darwin Cup, which is right on his weight limit.

Two time Darwin Cup runner up Hawks Bay received a kilo penalty for the race and will now be forced to carry 62kg.

Final Field For Darwin Cup 2011

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Hcp Rating
1	X804411351	HAWKS BAY	Neil Dyer	Steven Arnold	0	62kg	106
2	8749146113	PALMYRA BOY	Neil Dyer	Ms Jan Cameron	0	57.5kg	93
3	X11123X318	BLACKBRIAR	Melinda Boothby	Nash Rawiller	0	55kg	88
4	76X9519197	NARATEL	Phillip Stokes	Dom Tourneur	0	53.5kg	85
5	8743515521	SPAKATAK	Kevin Lamprecht	Carl Spry	0	53.5kg	85
6	0X32175511	THE RUFFIAN	Sheila Arnold	Kerrin McEvoy	0	53.5kg	85
7	25X9000815	CLUB LIQUID	Dick Leech	Michael McDuff	0	53kg	84
8	0080X15220	MONTEGO BAY	Paula Trenwith	Scott Hillebrand	0	53kg	84
9	8545212X64	AGARKAR	Michael Hickmott	Ms Libby Hopwood (a)	0	53kg	82
10	12111X6516	GENERAL MAZERATTI	Jason Manning	Ms Vanessa Arnott	0	53kg	80
11	52X0325X33	ROBDON FLYER	Ken Rogerson	–	0	53kg	76
12	687166X459	VERY FAST	Julien Welsh	–	0	53kg	74
13e	132345X532	BOLTON (NZ)	Stephen Brown	Paul Denton	0	53kg	73
14e	0625614608	LOUKOUMI	Lisa Lefoe	–	0	53kg	73