The first major shift in pre-post betting on the opening Group One race of the Australian racing season is expected on Saturday after exciting colt Hinchinbrook resumes at Rosehill.Hinchinbrook shares top billing in the $1 million Golden Rose with Melbourne filly Crystal Lily but with trainer Gerald Ryan tipping a winning return in the Starlight Stakes, the colt could easily own outright favouritism.Pre-post operator TAB Sportsbet has Hinchinbrook and Crystal Lily, last season's Golden Slipper w
The first major shift in pre-post betting on the opening Group One race of the Australian racing season is expected on Saturday after exciting colt Hinchinbrook resumes at Rosehill.
Hinchinbrook shares top billing in the $1 million Golden Rose with Melbourne filly Crystal Lily but with trainer Gerald Ryan tipping a winning return in the Starlight Stakes, the colt could easily own outright favouritism.
Pre-post operator TAB Sportsbet has Hinchinbrook and Crystal Lily, last season's Golden Slipper winner, equal favourites for the Golden Rose at $9.
But, irrespective of how she races in her seasonal return at Caulfield on Saturday, Crystal Lily is far from a certain Golden Rose runner making Hinchinbrook an obvious standout at the top of betting charts for the race if he can justify Ryan's confidence.
Ryan has opted for a Starlight Stakes (1100m) start against older horses in preference to a more traditional Golden Rose lead-up when Hinchinbrook was given 59.5kg in the Run To The Rose (1300m).
"As it stands I'm a lot more comfortable with him first-up at 1100 metres than the 1300 metres," Ryan said.
Hinchinbrook will be stepping out in a race for the first time since a minor placing in the AJC Sires' Produce at Randwick on April 10 - an acceptable end to a two-year-old season which netted two wins and a brave fourth on a wet track in the Golden Slipper.
With new race jockey Blake Shinn on board, Hinchinbrook has won two recent barrier trials, confirming he is on target for a lucrative spring.
"He seems to have a lot more natural speed this time in," Ryan said.
Starlight Stakes betting was in a holding pattern on Friday with at least two trainers weighing up their options.
David Payne has accepted with three sprinters but is expected to rely on last-start winner Winter King as his only runner while Gary Portelli's Lighthorseman is a dual acceptor at the meeting.
Winter King, a part of in-form jockey Glyn Schofield's outstanding book, shared early Starlight favouritism with Hinchinbrook at $2.90.
Schofield has seven rides with African Prince ($3.60), We Betcha ($3.80) and Masquerader ($4.80) strongly favoured to continue the former South African's golden run.