The "people's horse" will have the backing of the locals when the 2021 Port Macquarie Cup jumps on October 8 despite holding the second-longest odds at saluting.

You see, the chestnut gelding has gained a cult following over the years - something the trainer himself doesn't even know how it began.

"Everywhere he goes everyone knows him and they all seem to love him and I don't know whether it's because of his race ability or more to do with the character that he is," McCudden said.

"But either way there will be plenty of people cheering him on."

The story of Dangerous Dan has gained momentum in previous years although it all started with the help of an auction after a few too many beers.

"Dad inherited a little bit of money when my grandfather died and said he wanted to buy a horse with it," McCudden said.

"I looked for a good six months and couldn't find much and to be honest, I was probably one beer too many deep on a Tuesday night when the auctions were on.

"There was this horse called Dangerous Dan and I've got a brother called Daniel so I rang mum up and asked how much money we had (to buy the horse).

"She said five grand, I went to eight grand, told her we bought him and then I got called for everything - and the rest is history."

McCudden knows he has trained a rank outsider, but over the last 18 months a lot of unusual events have taken place.

Even if this one would take the cake.

"Realistically he is the 200-to-one chance and the outsider of the field, but you can't win races sitting in a box so we'll give it a crack and see what happens," he said.

"There's certainly been stranger things happen over the last year and a bit than having a horse like Dan lob in a race like this."

It's the typical underdog story. The local horse with no form hoping to take a share of $200,000 from the more highly-fancied horses from Sydney and metropolitan areas.

"Our bloke always gives 110 per cent and he's got the home track advantage so we're hoping that can count for something."

The race jumps at 5.05pm.

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