Brad Widdup was both delighted and relieved when Ausbred Rising Sun made a brilliant return at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

Hawkesbury's leading trainer clinched his 51st winner of the season when the Maurice four-year-old circled the field to take the Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m) at $16 after even longer odds were offered.

Ridden by Tyler Schiller, the gelding defeated The Replicant ($14) and Gelatin ($5.50) to post the third win of his 13-start career.

Bred by his owners Chris and Lyn Lawlor, Ausbred Rising Sun is the sixth foal of the Singspiel mare Silamani, who raced only three times before being retired.

Widdup tried Ausbred Rising Sun as a stayer last year, running him in both the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and Group 2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m), but he didn't stay.

"I'm convinced now that 1800m might be his limit," he said this evening.

"He just didn't come up last time, but I've been really happy with how he has been going at home in the last few weeks.

"I wasn't surprised at all that he did so well today, and it was good to see shim how the ability we know he has.

"Ausbred Rising Sun was scheduled to resume in a Provincial Benchmark 68 Handicap over 1200m at Newcastle last Saturday with 60.5kg topweight, but we decided to wait.

"He had won on a soft track and been placed on heavy ground, so there was no point holding off any longer to run him."

Widdup was so impressed with Ausbred Rising Sun's performance that he is looking ahead to next autumn's Provincial-Midway Championships.

"It's a $1m Final, and 1400m suits him nicely," he said.

Widdup has stablemate and first-up city winner Jedibeel (Schiller) engaged at Saturday's Gosford stand-alone meeting.

But he is keeping a close watch on the weather before deciding if he lines up in the $200,000 Thunder Thousand Benchmark 78 Handicap (1000m).

"There's also another Benchmark 78 Handicap (1100m) at the Scone carnival on Saturday week," he said.

. HOOFNOTE: Stars And Bars, who won the previous races a at Warwick Farm for fellow Hawkesbury trainers Jason Attard and Lucy Keegan-Attard, also was an acceptor for the Provincial Benchmark 68 at Newcastle last Saturday, but was withdrawn when he drew poorly.