If Appoint Percy turns out to be as good as Luke Pepper expects the horse can be, there will be a considerable debt of gratitude owing to a fellow Canberra trainer.

Not that Matthew Dale would want anything out of Appoint Percy's emergence.

In reality Dale couldn't be happier for Pepper as the former New Zealand galloper tries to make it back-to-back city wins at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

Canberra-based Dale has one of the strongest regional team of horses going around and Pepper is one of his closest friends.

When Dale knocked back the chance to train the New Zealand-owned four-year-old on the grounds he didn't have a spare box in his stable, his thoughts immediately turned to Pepper.

"Matty put my name forward, the owners gave it some thought and the horse ended up with me," Pepper said.

"We help each other out a lot. We've been good mates before racing and he has been a great help to me since I moved back to Canberra from Moruya.

"I go and gallop (top sprinter) Fell Swoop when he's not there to ride him."

Appoint Percy will be chasing his third win in five starts for Pepper in the TAB.com.au Handicap.

On the strength of a last-start Randwick win when he made his own luck from a wide barrier, Appoint Percy is well on his way to becoming one of the best graduates from the Highway Handicap series, weekly races run in the city for country-trained horses.

Yet irrespective of how Appoint Percy goes at Warwick Farm, Pepper will send his stable star to the paddock for a longer spell than first intended.

"Straight after he won at Randwick I thought the winter carnival in Brisbane would be a worthwhile option but at the time I didn't realise the horse had been in training for six months before he arrived here," Pepper said.

Appoint Percy opened favourite in a wide market but is now a clear-cut top pick with bookmakers after firming from $4.20 to $3.60.