Waverley Road is out to give boom stallion Wootton Basset his first Australian-bred winner

Trainer John O’Shea believes it’s only a matter of time before the winners start to flow for top sire Wootten Bassett in Australia and hopes his colt Waverley Road can lead the way at Randwick.

Super sire Wootton Bassett can enhance his reputation as one of the world’s best producers when promising colt Waverley Road makes his debut at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Coolmore’s star stallion is yet to get off the mark with Australian juveniles but trainer John O’Shea is certain it’s only a matter of time and he’s hopeful it will be with his own two-year-old on home turf.

Wootton Bassett, the champion two-year-old colt of France in 2010, has steadily built a reputation as one of the globes most sought after stallions.

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His first crop of Australian two-year-olds are starting to hit the track and there have already been several to catch the eye.

Golden Slipper favourite West Of Swindon is by the stallion and came close to breaking through when he was second in the Golden Gift.

Coolmore’s own Wodeton hasn’t even had a start and is on the second line of betting at $15 for the Slipper.

Waverley Road will be one of two runners by the stallion alongside Pallaton in the Shinzo @ Coolmore 2YO Open Plate (1000m) and O’Shea believes he’s got a future.

“He is a nice horse and like all the ones we have by the stallion, he has a great attitude,” O’Shea said.

“I know the stallion hasn’t had a winner yet but I think there will be an avalanche of them when we get to the autumn.

“They are probably not pre-Christmas two-year-olds but their class and attitude gets them there.

“This bloke is exactly that. We only bought him in the winter and he had one prep in the yard and here is going to go racing.”

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

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 31, 2024

Waverley Road ($15) faces a testing assignment with nine first starters in the opener from some of Sydney’s biggest yards.

Dylan Browne McMonagle has been tasked with piloting the promising youngster from a perfect draw in barrier three.

Waverley Road had a final tune up for his debut on Monday, finishing second in an 800m trial at Hawkesbury.

“We gave him a little trial on Monday just because he is a little gross fella,” O’Shea said.

“I thought he needed to do a bit more work.”

O’Shea and Charlton could be in for a big day on home turf with Magic Millions Guineas nominated three-year-olds Getafix ($7) and Metaphorically ($9).

Getafix returns from a short freshen up with one trial under his belt while Metaphorically broke his maiden last start at Randwick Kensington.

“Getafix is definitely going to the Guineas,” O’Shea said.

“We will see what happens Saturday but he is ready to roll.”

“Metaphorically has always been a nice horse, I just felt he needed to get out beyond 1250m and around that distance,”

Metaphorically literally wins the first at Randwick!@JohnOSheaRacing | @aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/Way8gVickP

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 6, 2024

“He has got a big action and likes to get into that action.

“As soon as he got to 1300m he was able to win and I think he maps well in a race that looks to be a decent gallop.”

While Metaphorically holds a nomination for the Guineas, O’Shea said it’s likely the race will come up a bit soon for the colt likely to be aimed the $239,900 Magic Millions Rising Stars Class 4 Plate for three and four year olds a week earlier.

Captain Amelia ($11), Good Banter ($8) and Cotehele ($19) are all chances in their respective assignments.

Good Banter has been building to a win and is set to relish the step up in trip in the Precise Air Benchmark 78 Handicap (2400m).

“Good Banter has been desperate for a mile and a half,” O’Shea said.

“She has taken a good step forward from her run the other day. I know the King’s horse (Gilded Water) is there but she will run very well.”

Captain Amelia lines up in the Inglis Classic Sale 9-11 Feb Out Now Benchmark 78 (1400m) while Cotehele will attempt to bounce back to his best in the James Squire Benchmark 100 Handicap (1400m).

PROMISING GELDIGN YORKSHIRE READY TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Trainer John O’Shea expects progressive galloper Yorkshire to take another step in his highly anticipated development when he returns at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Yorkshire only got to the races in the last week of his three-year-old season but hardly put a foot wrong in a debut preparation that produced three wins and a placing in four starts.

It included a pair of midweek victories at Randwick Kensington and Warwick Farm with a Saturday metropolitan victory now on the radar.

O’Shea and his co-trainer Tom Charlton opted to send Yorkshire for a break in mid-August rather than push on into the spring and will use a summer campaign as a launching pad to bigger things.

Yorkshire leads all the way for @JohnOSheaRacing to win the fifth at Warwick Farm! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/U4DwNA3NpQ

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 21, 2024

“We can give him the opportunity (at this time of year) to go through his grades more than anything,” O’Shea said.

“He is still lightly rated and there is a bunch of Benchmark 78s were he gets the opportunity to be competitive on a Saturday.

“We are going through the process with him more than anything.”

Yorkshire will be the horse to beat in the TAB Benchmark 78 Handicap (1300m).

The son of Snitzel has looked good in both of his trials in the lead up to his return, winning his latest effort over 850m at Randwick Kensington.

O’Shea believes Yorkshire can raise the bar higher again in his second preparation.

“He has made good improvement since last preparation,” O’Shea said.

“Last preparation was his first prep off a long break so he is obviously going to go better this time.”

Yorkshire is the $2.90 favourite to enhance his winning record with in-form jockey Kerrin McEvoy aboard.

Last start Warwick Farm winner Accredited ($4.20) makes up a two-pronged attack for Joseph Pride with The Replicant ($26) also set to line up.

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott will also launch a two-pronged attack with first up galloper Silent Impact ($11) and stakes placed gelding Keenan ($12).

Originally published as Waverley Road is out to give boom stallion Wootton Basset his first Australian-bred winner