August 10 - Australian racehorse trainer Gerald Ryan was red in the face this week after his top-rated charge Hinchinbrook was assigned a huge weight of 59.5kg for Saturday's Run To The Rose (Gr 3), so much so that he pulled the colt from the race.

'There's no way he'll run with 59.5 kilograms,' said Ryan. 'It's a fair dinkum joke. I might as well take him straight to Melbourne and that would be another horse lost to Sydney racing.' However, once his anger subsided, the trainer announced his plan B.

Instead of entering the Run To The Rose, which is a well-known prep race for the prestigious $1-million Golden Rose (Gr 1) in two weeks time, Ryan opted to enter Hinchinbrook in Saturday's $100,000 Starlight Stakes over 1100m at Rosehill Gardens.

But new race aside, there's little doubt the trainer will continue to stew all week over the 'unfair weight'. Perhaps it was because Hinchinbrook was the only 3-year-old out of the race's 18 nominations to run in the $3.5-million Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1).

In that race he finished a none-too-shabby fourth. He followed that up with a third in the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes, cementing his reputation as a thoroughbred to watch. Hence his trainer's intention to send him out in a top prep race for the Golden Rose.

Defending his decision to award Hinchinbrook the huge weight, Kerry Jordan racing NSW racing and handicapping liaison officer, said the 59.5kg weight has been arrived at by comparing the top weights of the Run To The Rose over the past few years.

'Denman had 58 kilograms last year with one metropolitan win,' said Jordan said. 'The previous year Baci Amore had 58.5kg for a win and a second in the TJ Smith (Gr 1). Hinchinbrook has had five starts for wins in the Canonbury Stakes and the Skyline (Gr 3), thirds in the Pago Pago and the Sires' Produce (Gr 1) and fourth in the Slipper.'

The Starlight Stakes, meanwhile, has attracted 12 entries including Avenue, who is trained by Peter Moody.

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2011/12/09 12:47:22 AM