The highly-talented Emain Macha just keeps stepping up at the annual Mildura carnival.

Wind the clock back to 2016 and Greg Scholefield's juvenile took out a two-year-old event.

He then backed it up 12 months later with victory in the Mildura Guineas.

And last year the son of Safari ran third in his heat of the Mark Gurry & Associates Cup before scoring in the $25,000 final.

So it should come as no surprise that Scholefield is back chasing more spoils in 2019.

Emain Macha, now a winner of 25 races, will line-up in heat two of the Tasco Petroleum Mildura Pacing Cup (2600m) tonight.

He's drawn the same heat as San Carlo – a red-hot favourite and major chance for Saturday night's final – but Scholefield is expecting a bold performance from his charge.

"He's working really good," the Naracoorte-based trainer said.

"He's pretty bright and perky around the place, a bit cheeky. You get to know them and you know that he's pretty close.

"He will need a lot of luck like most of the other horses in it. There's a nice horse in his heat in San Carlo and we've drawn inside him on the second row, which makes it a little bit harder.

"If he gets the right run, he'll be right in it. I'm just really hoping we get into the final."

The first five place-getters in each of the two heats will qualify for the Group 2 final on Saturday night.

Wayne Hill has been booked to take the drive on the 2019 Wedderburn Pacing Cup champion, which has been a super performer for his 70-year-old hobby trainer.

"He'd be the best horse I've trained," Scholefield said.

"I'm a retired builder and I retired about 10 years ago. I've always had horses and I'm always playing around with them.

"This has been a good journey with (Emain Macha) and a couple of others I've had in the last 10 years."

Scholefield loves getting to Mildura for the carnival regardless of how his horses perform.

"The first year I went up there I took Emain Macha and two others and the whole three of them won. That was my whole stable," he said.

"It's been good. I enjoy the week up there. I get away and we stay with Ian Watson's family, who are a great family. I enjoy going to see them and having a look around Mildura as well.

"It's a good carnival and sort of a holiday for us."

Scholefield will also run the in-form Kingofthestars tonight in the second heat of the Tenderprint Australia Cup (2190m).

"He's really working good. I'm really happy with him," he said.

 

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CLICK BELOW TO HEAR FROM BEC BARTLEY, GREG SCHOLEFIELD AND CRAIG RAIL ON GAIT SPEED: