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By Ray Hickson

A plan from trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou to prove talented four-year-old Ellsberg’s versatility, as he starts his Golden Eagle campaign, at Rosehill on Saturday will likely come down to the tactical nous of Nash Rawiller.

Alexiou said Plan A for the Elite Sand & Soil Handicap (1400m) was to tuck Ellsberg in behind the pace, as he did in his latest trial, but a curve ball in the shape of barrier 14 makes that plan not so simple.

In all nine starts to date Ellsberg has either led or settled second and given his race is the tenth on the card the stable may take a wait and see approach to how he is ridden.

“We’ve been teaching him to sit back and get home over the top of them, barrier 14 makes it very difficult and I presume Nash is going to have to ride him how he finds him out of the gates,’’ Alexiou said.

“You’ve got a pretty good run there from the 1400m until they start turning and if they happen to string along it gives him a chance to get in with cover.

“We’ve seen a lot worse places than three wide with cover at the Rosehill 1400m, but we haven’t seen any scratchings yet and how it’s going to map.

Ellsberg wins a trial at Rosehill on September 14

“He may happen to find himself in front if there’s no speed but that will be to be up to Nash to sum up in the first 200m out of the gates.”

Ellsberg, $3.60 with TAB on Thursday, is a $26 chance in the $7.5m Golden Eagle (1500m) run on October 30 and will race with the blinkers off.

His last win was an all the way three length victory over Private Eye first-up in April and he hasn’t raced since a gallant second to Ayrton in the Group 3 Gunsynd (1600m) in Brisbane on June 12.

“We’re really happy with him and all being well after Saturday he will go to the Silver Eagle,’’ Alexiou said.

“The form around him looks very good and hopefully he can turn a couple of those second placings last preparation into wins.”

The first three home in the Silver Eagle on October 9 are exempt from ballot in the Golden Eagle.

The barrier gods didn’t shine on Enterprise Pomme in the Listed $140,000 Petaluma Heritage Stakes (1100m) as she also came up with the outside alley.

The filly made her stable debut with a gutsy fourth in the Group 2 Furious Stakes (1200m) behind Jamaea, an effort Alexiou was rapt with.

“We really like what we’ve seen since she joined our stable. She’s not overly big but she’s all guts,’’ he said.

“I thought she did a really good job to absorb good speed and pressure and be right there in the finish.

“She bounced out of that run but 1100m at Rosehill from a wide gate leaves you a little bit hollow. We are going to need a lot of luck but we’re happy with how she’s going.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Golden Rose meeting at Rosehill