Hefty weight rules out Phillip Stokes stayer Deakin from Adelaide Cup

Promising stayer Deakin will not run in the Adelaide Cup with the Phillip Stokes stable surprised with the weight he was given.

Phillip Stokes has aborted an Adelaide Cup tilt for Deakin after the classy stayer was slugged with 59kg for Monday’s two-mile feature at Morphettville.

The European import thrashed his rivals last start in the Torney Cup, and was handed the top weight for the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m).

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Stokes, who is chasing a third Cup win in five years, planned a two-horse ambush in this year’s Cup, but the handicapper’s weight assessment has seen the trainer pivot to the Listed Roy Higgins (2600m) as he eyes a Melbourne Cup ticket for Deakin.

“We have a lot of confidence in the horse, our first impressions were he could still win the race with the weight,” racing manager Nick Pinkerton said.

“But if you win with 59kg, what price do you pay on the other side for carrying that impost? And now being penalised for having won with it?”

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Amade, who finished fourth in last year’s Adelaide Cup, also received the top weight (58kg) as a Group 2 winner who was rated 101.

Deakin, rated 97, has a Listed win to his name, but is yet to compete at Group level.

Phillip Stokes won’t be sending Deakin to the Adelaide Cup. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

“We never in our wildest dreams expected to get more than the 58kg,” he said.

“When we got the 59kg, you look at the relativity of it, you think ‘OK I can understand how they scaled him where they have.’

“Then you think, we won a Listed race on the limit last start and now we are asked to carry five times more in a Group race, at our first time of asking at that level.

“It just seemed like too big a task, so we’ve opted to avoid it.”

Fellow interstate raiders Grand Pierro, Promises Kept and Le Don De Vie are next in the weights at 58.5kg.

Top local hopes Gotta Go Guru and Silent Surrente have been allotted 53.5kg each.

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— Phillip Stokes Racing (@pstokesracing) March 4, 2025

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Stokes may still entertain a maiden tilt over the two miles in the Sydney Cup (April 12), but only if it ties in with the their Melbourne Cup ambitions.

The stable is “disappointed” that Deakin won’t run in the Adelaide Cup, but they know they still have a strong hand in the race with stablemate Taramansour.

“Of course we are disappointed, we have an Adelaide-based stable, it’s a hometown Cup, we’ve won two of the last four, we’d love to win three out of five,” he said.

“We are disappointed not to have two live chances but Taramansour is definitely a live chance himself.

“We’re very happy with him, we still think he can fly the flag and we are a very good chance of winning the race still.”