RUNNING for local council certainly hasn't stopped Marc Conners from training racehorses. The Warwick Farm-based, third-generation trainer has a team of 17 in work and has had 19 winners since the racing season opened on August 1.

"It has been a big team effort, I can't do it all myself," the son of four-time Golden Slipper winning-trainer Clarry Conners said yesterday. "We've got a good team behind me; good staff make a big difference. You've got to keep good staff. We've got a team that has been with us a long time now."

Conners produced another city winner when Smokin' Jewel held off the hot favourite in the final race at Canterbury on Thursday night. Yesterday, Western Beau missed a place in the Goulburn Cup, while he has Racing Romance (Plenary Group Hcp) and Mr Clangtastic (Deloitte Hcp) engaged at Randwick today.

"Racing Romance has done a good job, it is the first time we've been able to give her a real good preparation," Conners said. "She is just learning to race. She'll come back and make the grade next time 'round."

While Conners has no doubt the best is to come from Racing Romance, the trainer believes the last-start Randwick 2400-metre winner goes into today's race with more than an outside chance.

"If she gets the right run from the good barrier, she can do the job again," he said.

Mr Clangtastic has been a wonderful performer for the western Sydney stable.

"He'll have this run and one more run and then go to Queensland for the Magic Millions Stayers Cup," Conners said. "He has been in work for a while. Actually, we had a few problems getting him right. He has ordinary feet, had an abscess about a month ago, but he is good at the moment, and he might be out of his grade but it is a good starting point.

"He is a good, honest horse and he likes the sting out of the ground."

Conners missed out on a spot on the council but his father-in-law gained one. He went in with a mindset of returning something to the community. The father of three hasn't ruled out another run.