If Autumn Glow turns up at Rosehill in top condition, rival trainer Tom Charlton concedes the George Ryder Stakes is probably a race for the minor prizes.
But he isn’t so sure that will be the case in the Doncaster Mile (1600m) should the glamour mare head that way after Saturday.
Charlton will saddle up Linebacker and Yorkshire in the Group 1 this weekend where both horses concede Autumn Glow two kilos under the weight-for-age scale.
He says those conditions make the Chris Waller star hard to beat as she bids to extend her unbeaten sequence to 11, and if she produces the form she has been, her rivals are probably in a competition for second.
“I can’t be definitive with that, but if she’s on her normal game, it probably is,” Charlton said.
“As we know with horses, that’s not always the case, but we’re realistic about the challenge at set weights.
“Perhaps if we meet her in the Doncaster we might have more favourable conditions to give us our best chance of beating her.”
Linebacker and Yorkshire drop to 53kg in next month’s Doncaster Mile (1600m) in which Autumn Glow has been handicapped at 56.5kg, representing a 6.5kg swing in the weights.
All roads lead to the feature for both gallopers, and Charlton expects another encouraging performance from Linebacker on Saturday after he was beaten just 1-1/2 lengths by Joliestar on resumption in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m).
“He didn’t jump as well as he can. He ended up a bit further back in what was a dash home,” Charlton said.
“But all-in-all, it was a very good run. A run with a lot of merit and if he’d got the first hundred metres a bit more clinical, he would have been right in the finish.
“We want to see a similar run second-up. Top three would be great.”
Yorkshire was also solid finishing fifth in the same race after travelling handy to the speed, an effort that had extra merit given he suffered an early campaign setback that forced him to miss his scheduled return a week earlier.
“To see him put in that effort and only be beaten a couple of lengths was really creditable,” Charlton said.
“Again, we want to see another strong performance and then third-up into the Doncaster.”
Linebacker and Yorkshire are listed to run solely under Charlton’s name this weekend after his training partner John O’Shea was on Tuesday disqualified for four months for what Racing NSW stewards deemed improper conduct towards veterinarians following the controversial scratching of Bev’s Nine from a race at Rosehill last month.
O’Shea has indicated he will appeal the penalty and seek a stay of proceedings.
