Tasmanian cult hero The Cleaner has added another gutsy Moonee Valley win to his record on his path to a dream Cox Plate start.

Trained by Mick Burles at Longford in Tasmania’s north-east, The Cleaner ($5.50) produced another determined front running effort to win Friday night’s Group Three JRA Cup (2040m) over the Cox Plate course by a head from Sangster, with a neck to Mourinho third.

Exempt from ballot for the Cox Plate after his Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes win at the track, The Cleaner is set to return to Melbourne in four weeks for the $3 million weight-for-age feature.

“He’s got a lot of guts. That’s what I like about him,” Burles said.

“I was pretty confident. I know what he can do.”

Burles, who takes The Cleaner home on the ferry across Bass Strait after each of his Melbourne races, says the JRA Plate will top him off nicely for his biggest assignment.

“He’ll be in the paddock for a week and then I’ll give him three weeks work to get him ready for the Cox Plate,” Burles said.

Steven Arnold won a Cox Plate on champion So You Think and will ride the gritty Tasmanian in this year’s race.

“He gave me a nice kick about 600 metres out and then got a bit tired the last 100 metres. He’s had a big blow. I reckon there’s a little bit of improvement in him,” Arnold said.

“Whether he can win a Cox Plate, I don’t know, but he’ll give a sight.”

“And he’ll get some of the prize money.”