John O’Shea debut winner Getafix resumes gelded at Rosehill on Saturday

Getafix may have won on debut but resumes at Rosehill as a gelding, which trainer John O’Shea believes will make him a racehorse.

Getafix (right) resumes as a gelding at Rosehill on Saturday. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Getafix has always been a nice prospect but trainer John O’Shea reckons the ultimate gear change should help his progressive galloper deliver on his promise ahead of his return at Rosehill Gardens this Saturday.

O’Shea, who recently made his training partnership with Tom Charlton official, made the decision to geld Getafix following two runs during his debut preparation as a two-year-old earlier this year.

“It was a pretty easy decision,” O’Shea said.

“Even on the first day he won on debut he was quite colty so we thought we would get that done and he is a nice prospect.

“We thought we would make a racehorse of him.”

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Getafix had two runs as a colt, producing a strong performance on the Randwick Kensington track to score on debut over 1250m.

O’Shea elected to give the smart juvenile his chance in the Group 2 Todman Stakes at his next start five weeks later but Getafix struggled to find his best on the big occasion and was spelled after the run.

Getafix returns from a spell in the Precise Air 2YO Handicap (1200m) with a couple of strong trials under his belt and Kerrin McEvoy booked to ride.

“He is a nice progressive horse and the attitude has been good with the gelding,“ O’Shea said.

“There is improvement there but he is still a competitive horse and will map will so that’s a big start.

“He obviously wants a little bit further than what he faces on Saturday going forward but the most important thing at Rosehill is that you need to map well, which he does and he is a quality horse.”

A precocious Getafix finishes really nicely to score on debut!@[e-mail]/3E5FbEqODt

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Getafix is one of several two-year-olds that could use Saturday as a springboard into the early three-year-old races during the spring.

Promising Hawkes Racing gelding Mawjood is the $2.40 favourite for the opening event from Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s Mayfair ($3) with Getafix on the fourth line of betting at $7.50.

Regally bred fillies Mergeila ($9) and Sensational Wind ($6) add further intrigue to a fascinating affair to start the card.

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O’Shea and Charlton will have four runners across the meeting.

Stablemates King Of Naples and Junqueira were both acceptors in the TAB Handicap but have been scratched to target separate assignments on the same card.

King Of Naples ($13) will be third-up in the Rosehill Bowling Club Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m) after a pair of competitive unplaced runs this preparation.

In-form jockey Jason Collett has been set the task of navigating a path from an awkward draw in barrier 10.

“King Of Naples has good gate speed and if he can get across he will still map OK,” O’Shea said.

“Unfortunately he has had no continuity to his racing because of the wet tracks where he was five weeks between runs and three weeks.

“When we can get a bit of racing into him and a bit of continuity, he will be fine.”

King Of Naples’ campaign has been disrupted by wet tracks. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Junqueira will lug the topweight of 60.5kg in the ATC Members Peter Simpson Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m) but her life has also been made tougher from a wide gate.

“Junqueira will need all the expertise of (James McDonald) but the draw is a shame because she is going really well,” O’Shea said.

“That gate and map position look a formidable challenge for her.

“With her, it’s all about getting her rating sufficiently (for the Magic Millions) but she is going well.”

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Awesome Wonder ($6.50) is the stable’s other contender on the card and O’Shea expects the mare to run a big race in the The Agency Real Estate Benchmark 78 Handicap (2400m).

The daughter of Galileo has returned from Queensland after running fifth in the Tattersall’s Gold Crown (2143m) last time at Eagle Farm with Tommy Berry retaining the ride on the stayer.

“Awesome Wonder is a mile and a half horse with a good gate (barrier one),“ Berry said.

“She is coming back from Listed grade to a 78 so that’s good for her.

“She is a genuine mile and a half horse and there is not many in the race that can say that.”

O’Shea and Charlton have got their partnership off to a decent start with three winners to their names.

Originally published as John O’Shea debut winner Getafix resumes gelded at Rosehill on Saturday