John O’Shea and Tom Charlton eyes first Group 1 success with Linebacker in Golden Rose at Rosehill

The next couple of weeks are vital for classy three-year-old Linebacker as he seeks a Group 1 victory, starting with the Golden Rose on Saturday.

Linebacker has shown trainer John O’Shea and Tom Charlton he’s a top quality horse since day one but the smart colt could prove even more special if he can deliver the training partnership a maiden Group 1 this Saturday.

The well-named three-year-old will be the training partnership’s first Group 1 runner together when he contests Saturday’s Group 1 $1m Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens.

Charlton had been O’Shea’s assistant trainer for several years but was promoted in July.

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“It’s exciting (to have my first Group 1 runner) and an important one as well,” Charlton said.

“Of course it’s exciting for everyone and a lot of work has been put into this horse over the past six to 12 months.

“The next few weeks for him is an important time.”

O’Shea and Charlton knew they had a very good horse on their hands early on.

A $160,000 yearling purchase, Linebacker won his first start at Hawkesbury and has raced in Group company ever since.

“He has just got the qualities of a really good horse,” Charlton said.

“Even from his early days, he has always been above average in everything he has done and the way he has handled himself.

“As soon as we started stepping out in public, nothing changed and his reputation continued to grow.

“He is just a quality animal physically, the way he moves. His assets, the way he relaxes. He can absorb pressure and quicken off it.”

Linebacker (left) slugs it out with Broadsiding in the Champagne Stakes on a Heavy 10 track at Randwick in April. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Linebacker won a Group 3 Baillieu Quality (1400m) as a two-year-old before finishing less than a length off Broadsiding in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes in his final juvenile run.

He will clash with Broadsiding again in the Golden Rose where the Godolphin colt is a $3.30 favourite.

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Linebacker is a $6 chance with Kerrin McEvoy aboard.

He produced the flashing light run of the Group 2 Run To The Rose after going back to last in the run and rattling off some slick late sectionals finish fourth.

“Just from the gate we were negative and dropped him in last start,” Charlton said.

“He was entitled to run home like he did but he couldn’t have done much more and probably couldn’t have gone any quicker his last 600m to be fair.

“It was a perfect prep run and should hold us in good stead for the next few weeks.”

It will be a significant day in the new partnership of O’Shea and Charlton.

Saturday could be the first of several Group 1 targets for Linebacker.

The Group 1 $3m Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield in a fortnight’s time is high on the agenda while the three-year-old also holds a nomination for the Group 1 $5m Cox Plate at The Valley.

“It’s not the be-all and end-all this weekend,” Charlton said.

“We’ve always thought a mile around Caulfield would be excellent for him.

“He is a very balanced horse and has a good race pattern for Caulfield.

“We know he is going to get a mile well so that’s a lovely option if he can run well this weekend and potentially a race like the Cox Plate or Spring Champion beyond that.”

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Charlton got the name for Linebacker while sitting in the office of the stable’s Randwick yard with the NFL in the background and it’s proven a fitting the name for the highly-talented colt.

A Linebacker is one of the most imposing players in an NFL team’s defensive line.

As a son of Super Seth, the name ended up having an added meaning.

“Literally a couple of weeks after we got the name one of the owners said I can’t believe you named it after Seth Joyner. I said ‘who is Seth Joyner’,” Charlton said.

“He was a champion linebacker back in the day. There ended up being two meanings to the name.”

O’Shea and Charlton are hoping to run both Premise and Good Banter in the Irresistible Pools & Pools Benchmark 88 Handicap (1400m) but the latter is still among the emergencies.

Good Banter is also in the Group 2 $400,000 Golden Pendant (1400m) as a potentially lucrative back-up plan as she prepares to have her first start since finishing seventh in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks.

Premise is also first-up but has drawn wide in barrier 15.

“Premise will likely run unless the track got really heavy, we might think about not running but at this stage she will,” Charlton said.

“We just need to get a run under her belt and racing.

“Good Banter will ideally run in the same race and she is the same, she just needs to run this weekend.

“She would have a chance in the 88, handles wet ground and should run really well.

“She has improved from her three-year-old campaign and might end up in a race like the Angst and maybe the Matriarch.”

Premise is an $81 chance with Ben Melham aboard while Good Banter is $18 and is partnered by McEvoy.

Originally published as John O’Shea and Tom Charlton eyes first Group 1 success with Linebacker in Golden Rose at Rosehill