The resemblance is uncanny for Gratz Vella's Black Opal hope Chop The Ice

The veteran Canberra trainer is spending the day on the job, helping his son "playing around with some bricks". But mention you're keen to have a yarn about Sunday's Black Opal Stakes, then "by all means, I've got time".

Thoroughbred Park is six days away from its biggest event of the year with thousands to descend on the venue for the Black Opal Stakes on Sunday.

Vella was the last local to win the Black Opal, when You're Canny upstaged raging favourite Karuta Queen in 2011. The veteran Canberra trainer has been looking to repeat the dose ever since - and in Chop The Ice, he may have a genuine contender.

"I've trained him exactly the same way as I did with You're Canny, and he has responded with exactly the same thing," Vella said.

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"You're Canny won the Black Opal Preview and the Black Opal for me, and that was a big effort by him. Chop The Ice, he has done everything I've asked him, and the races he's been in have been a lot harder than what it has been over the last few years.

"We've had the Sydney horses here and he has more or less nearly matched stride with every one of them. The nominations are always strong.

"If he gets a start, by all means, he'll go around. He's done everything I've asked of him so far. He's had three starts, he's had a second, a third and a fourth. I'm quite happy with him.

"It would be nice if I could get barrier one, two, three or four. I'm going to put blinkers on him because I think that will give him a bit more focus, because up the straight he has been a bit lost when the pressure is on him. I'll put blinkers on him and we'll go from there."

This week marks the 50^th anniversary of Canberra's premier race, with the Black Opal Stakes on Sunday to be followed by the Canberra Cup a day later.

As Canberra punters yearn for the day another local hope wins the 1200m full of promising two-year-olds, Vella suggests there could be scarcely be a better time.

His triumph 12 years ago saw You're Canny become the first Canberra-based horse to win the Black Opal since Pembleton in 2000, when trainer John Morrissey was based in the ACT.

"It'd be lovely [to win it again]. We had a cocktail party the other night and I was saying it's been [a long time] since 2011 when I won the Black Opal with You're Canny," Vella said.

"I was there for the first one and I've been there every year. I reckon it's a very special occasion. When I won it, it was something I had dreamed of and it came good, you know? Before that, I had two seconds with One Time and Another Time [in 2005 and 2006]. She's been a good race for me.

"It's always a good time of year as you know. I've got fix, maybe six starts over the two days, so I've got a couple of good guns there to play with."

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