The Townsville-based Sheargold won the 2020 Cairns Cup on Paniagua with whom he had a great association with when the bargain-basement galloper put together a string of wins, including a trip to Brisbane.

Lord Of Light's trainer Ricky Ludwig engaged Scott Sheargold when regular rider Frank Edwards was unable to make the weight of 54.5 kilograms.

Edwards has the mount on top weight Inching Closer at 59kg in the Open Handicap over 1400 metres at Cairns' Cannon Park on Saturday.

Ludwig said he had chosen Sheargold because he considered his four-year-old gelding required the services of a senior jockey.

"Frank knows him inside out and it's unfortunate he can't get down to that weight," Ludwig said.

"But, Scott's a good strong rider and he should be able to put my bloke into a handy position from the barrier of four.

"The horse was a little bit headstrong for young Jasmine Cornish when she rode him a couple of times last preparation and he finished well in top three-year-old events.

"He's come back his time even stronger and Frank rode him great in his first-up win at Innisfail.

"I see that they have had something like 125 millimetres of rain at Cairns in the last couple of days so you will need to be drawn somewhere close in.

"My bloke can handle heavy going so I'm going into the race with plenty of confidence."

The scheduled seven-race meeting at Cairns is a TAB fixture and has attracted good numbers for all races.