Trainer John O’Shea has rated last Saturday’s Run To The Rose winner Astern as good as Exosphere who won the 2015 Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill.
Astern, above royal blue colours, is rated the same as last year’s Golden Rose winner Exosphere. Photo by Steve Hart.
Astern jumped to the top of the market order for this year’s Golden Rose Stakes in a fortnight after scoring a tough first up win in the Group 2 $175,000 MTA Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill.
Ladbrokes.com.au have elevated Astern to be the $4.40 favourite for the Golden Rose Stakes ahead of the Team Hawkes trained Divine Prophet at $6.50 and Chirs Waller’s smart filly Omei Sword while Run To the Rose runner up Star Turn is next in the betting at $8.50.
O’Shea produced Exosphere to win the Golden Rose Stakes after taking out the Run To The Rose at his previous start and he thinks that Astern can do the same.
O’Shea rates Astern in the same category as Exosphere and said that with a good barrier and luck in running the Medaglia D’Oro colt could come up with the same result.
“Astern is a very similar horse to Exosphere,’’ O’Shea told Big Sports Breakfast Weekend on Sunday.
“As long as he gets a gate where he can relax early then I don’t think the seven furlongs (1400m) is a problem for us — he just has to run it faster than everything else.’’
“There is a pattern in place that lays a foundation that we are trying to replicate going into the big races.’’
“We did get that right with Exosphere last year.’’
Astern is now a winner of four races from five starts and O’Shea is prepared to forgive him for his only defeat when eleventh to Capitalist in the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill during the Sydney Autumn Carnival.
“Apart from that blemish in the Golden Slipper where he didn’t have a good preparation in the lead up to it and a wide barrier, he has a wonderful record,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea said that an uninterrupted preparation this campaign has resulted in early Spring Carnival success for the new season three year old colt.
“His preparation has gone beautifully,” O’Shea said.
“At this level you just can’t afford to have anything go wrong, you’ve got to draw well and you’ve got to have those lovely James McDonald rides. It’s just a reflection on what a great team effort this is.”
Golden Rose Stakes market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4.40 Astern, $6.50 Divine Prophet, $7.50 Omei Sword $8.50 Star Turn $10 Evacuation, $11 Yankee Rose, $13 Derryn, $15 Impending, $17 El Divino, Leotie, $26 Defcon, Prized Icon, Mediterranean.
