Rockhampton Cup winner Regal Castanea will start in the Toowoomba Cup against the wishes of trainer Ron Macrae.Macrae was infuriated when Regal Castanea received 58 kilograms for Saturday's 2100-metre feature and planned to withdraw the four-year-old in protest.Regal Castanea received 53.5kg for last month's Rockhampton Cup but carried two kilos more when weights had to be raised."He has effectively gone up 4.5 kilos which is ridiculous considering the Rocky Cup isn't even a Listed race," Macrae

Rockhampton Cup winner Regal Castanea will start in the Toowoomba Cup against the wishes of trainer Ron Macrae.

Macrae was infuriated when Regal Castanea received 58 kilograms for Saturday's 2100-metre feature and planned to withdraw the four-year-old in protest.

Regal Castanea received 53.5kg for last month's Rockhampton Cup but carried two kilos more when weights had to be raised.

"He has effectively gone up 4.5 kilos which is ridiculous considering the Rocky Cup isn't even a Listed race," Macrae said.

"I didn't want to run him but the owners had the final say and are keen to start.

"My daughter has a quarter share in the horse but the other owners live in Sydney and they're all flying up for the race.

"I can see their point of view as it's a huge day here tomorrow and they've had their hotel rooms booked for a while.

"One of the owners rang the handicapper to complain about his weight and I believe Jason McLachlan also isn't happy with the weight (58kg) they gave his horse (Nellie Got There)."

Macrae has trained in Toowoomba for many years but his only previous Toowoomba Cup starter was Jack's Arrival who finished sixth to the Reg Lipp-trained Director's Special in 2000.

Although Macrae believes Regal Castanea now has the odds stacked again him, he still fancies his chances.

"He's done well since he came back after winning the Rockhampton Cup and I still expect him to run a big race," he said.

Macrae plans to hit the road again with Regal Castanea after his Toowoomba Cup assignment and will head north for the $100,000 Townsville Cup (2100m) on July 25.

"I've got a couple of options with him after this race but I'm keen to have a go at the Townsville Cup in a fortnight," he said.

"But there's a real worry now. What weight will he get in the Townsville Cup if he happens to win the Toowoomba Cup?

"He might end up racing in Sydney if he keeps getting treated like this."

Regal Castanea emerged as a new force in Brisbane racing last spring when he strung together four wins in five starts.

Macrae had winter carnival plans pencilled in but the four-year-old did too well during his spell which delayed his return.

"It's taken him six starts to get near his best form," Macrae said.

"He came back from a spell too fat. He weighed nearly 600 kilograms which is 60 kilograms above his racing weight.

"It took a long time for the weight to fall off and he's only just starting to find his best form now."