Racing: Weight worry for Red Ruler

Topline staying races between 2400m and 3200m are weight-related affairs.

If you accept that you have to put just a slight question mark on tomorrow's Wellington Cup favourite Red Ruler.

In the City of Auckland Cup on January 1, Red Ruler on 54kg was the biggest racetrack weight special in 12 months.

This time it's a little different. Almost substantially different.

In the Ellerslie race the main dangers were Sterling Prince, carrying 2kg more; Fazza, 2kg less; and Manonamission, 1kg less.

The reason this is different is because three of the main dangers, Heat Haze, Booming and Fiorano are all carrying 51kg, a whopping 6kg less than Red Ruler.

That's a lot of weight in the final stages of a tough staying race.

What would make Red Ruler vulnerable is if one of the above trio get the chance to crunch him late with a dashing sprint and each is capable of doing it.

Clearly not many punters think that will happen - Red Ruler is the $2.80 favourite with the TAB.

Trainer John Sargent is confident his topliner can pull off a winning treble after being close to two years away from winning because of a number of issues.

"He's done great on the trip south. We're very happy with him."

Booming has been racing in lesser company, but there is a sense he is about to burst into the headlines.

His two recent R90 wins at Awapuni were both taken by a bare one length, but could not have been achieved easier.

He is the one horse punters are coming for apart from Red Ruler in the cup and Wall Street in the $200,000 Thorndon Mile.

Chief TAB bookmaker Thad Taylor said in his time he had not seen two more dominant favourites in a pair of major races.

"Punters have been solid for the $2.80 for Red Ruler in the cup, particularly after his win at Trentham last Saturday and everyone wants to be on Wall Street."

Taylor said the support had been so steady the TAB had not adjusted on price for either race since yesterday morning.

"Usually in a cups race there is a lot of movement around the lightweights to beat the favourite, but the only one they've wanted in the cup, apart from Red Ruler, is Booming."

Heat Haze has been carefully developed by trainer Paul Jenkins and her finishing run to score at Awapuni last start left little doubt she has finally climbed to the top of the tree.

The slight negative is that even for a back runner, her No 18 barrier draw is awkward.

Fiorano has had no luck in three starts since his second to Boundless in the Counties Cup.

He struck a wet track in the Avondale Cup, could not find racing room in the Manawatu Cup and at Ellerslie two weeks ago was the victim of a sit-sprint tempo which saw him flash home late to be beaten only half-a-length behind leader Chettak.

His draw, as it was at Ellerslie, is very unfriendly, but once again he is a back runner.

Stand Tall was only three-quarters of a length from Red Ruler in the weight-for-age event on the first day last Saturday and meets the favourite 3.5kg better under handicap conditions here. That puts him right in the race.

* Our Heir Apparent is out of the $2.2 million Telecom NZ Derby in March after rolling into a fence and cutting a hock early this week.

"He'll be okay for the Derby in Brisbane, but I'll run out of time to get him ready for Ellerslie," said trainer Mark Walker.