Horse Racing

The John Thompson-trained Trusting is the top-rated, weighted and fancied contender to win The Metropolitan 2011 this weekend, the final field and barriers for the Royal Randwick feature released by Racing Victoria today.

Trusting is the headline acceptor for the 2011 The Metropolitan Handicap

A full field of 18 starters plus one emergency were paid up for at acceptance stage today for the $400,000 Group 1 The Metropolitan Handicap (2400m), the in-form Trusting the narrow favourite to win.

Drawn mid-field in barrier 10 with Singapore-based Brazilian hero hoop Joao Moreria continuing their association, five-year-old Trusting is at a quote of $5.50 through Luxbet to win the 2011 The Metropolitan.

They come into Saturday’s showdown on the back of successive black-type wins in Sydney including their commanding last-start effort to win the Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on September 17 by an easy four lengths over Hawk Island.

Trusting carried 59kg to victory in the Hill Stakes and the Chelmsford Stakes before that, making their 57kg Metropolitan top-weight a manageable one.

Hill Stakes runner-up Hawk Island has also been accepted in The Metropolitan field for this weekend, one of five starters for premier Sydney trainer Chris Waller.

Drawn wide in gate 16, six-year-old Hawk Island is rated an $8.50 chance in The Metropolitan odds at Luxbet and is the best-fancied of Waller’s hopefuls.

Waller will also be represented by Stand To Gain ($16), The Verminator ($26), Bellagio Wynn ($81) and Illustrious Blue ($26) who has drawn nicely in barrier three.

Along with Trusting and Hawk Island, two other The Metropolitan hopefuls are under double-figures in the Luxbet odds with David Vandyke’s last-start Colin Stephen Handicap winner over the distance Lamasery ($6.50) and the Gai Waterhouse-trained Tullamore ($8) drawn in gates eight and seven respectively.

Savabeel five-year-old Tullamore, winner of the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) during the winter, comes off a third place finish in the Hill Stakes and is one of two chance for Waterhouse in the staying showdown along with defending The Metropolitan winner Herculian Prince.

Yamanin Vital six-year-old Herculian Prince hasn’t won a race since their success in The Metropolitan last spring and drawn in gate 17 are rated a $26 chance in the Luxbet markets for this year’s edition.

Other notable 2011 The Metropolitan Handicap hopefuls and their price in the latest markets at Luxbet include the Robert Hickmott-trained stayer Mourayan, Robert Smerdon’s champion hurdler Black And Bent, Zabeel gelding Ironstein, the David Payne-trained Praecido on the rails and Anthony Cummings’ Red Eye Special who caught the eye last start running a close second to Lamasery in the Group 3 Colin Stephen Handicap (2400m) at Rosehill.

View the full The Metropolitan 2011 field, barrier draw, jockeys and weights below.

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2011 The Metropolitan Handicap Field, Barriers & Weights