Astern superb in Run To The Rose

A brilliant turn of foot at the crucial moment propelled Astern to a triumphant victory in the G2 Run To The Rose at Rosehill on Saturday, August 27, giving Godolphin its second successive win in the race.

Astern (John O’Shea/James McDonald) had been the stable’s best-performed juvenile last season, but he showed he has what it takes to rise to new heights, scoring by a long head from Star Turn.

Impending (John O’Shea/Brenton Avdulla) added further gloss to the result for Godolphin, taking third place in a race that ranks as the most important of the Australian season so far.

For trainer John O’Shea and his team, the win followed that last year of Exosphere who went on the win the G1 Golden Rose, a possible target for Astern, at his next start.

The win was the fourth from five starts for the son of Medaglia d’Oro, his only failure coming in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes in which circumstances conspired against him.

“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.

“His preparation has gone beautifully. 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.”

O’Shea must now decide whether to follow the Exosphere path and tackle the 1400m of the Golden Rose on September 10, or turn his sights to Melbourne where Astern would run in the G2 Danehill Stakes at Flemington at 1200m on the same day.

“We’ll see what what James (McDonald) says, whether he’s confident about him at seven furlongs,” he said.

McDonald, fresh from a highly-successful riding stint in England, heaped praise on the colt, declaring he hadn’t ridden a horse who moved like Astern and suggesting the extra distance of the Golden Rose would be within his scope.

“You only have to watch it to see how good he is. He’s the king of the castle, he’s the real deal,” McDonald said.

“He’s a different animal compared to his two-year-old season and that’s the only reason I went that way. I thought he was the real deal as a two-year-old, I think he is even more of the real deal now.”
 
“He’s such a good horse, 1400m should be no issue for him, I hope so anyway.”

McDonald had Astern perfectly position throughout and took the inside running when the leaders moved off the track at the 300m, unleashing a powerful sprint that carried him past Star Turn.

The two fought it out to the line with Astern maintaining his advantage over a horse who at his previous start had been a G3 winner.

Apart from the winner, O’Shea said he was delighted with the performances of his other three runners.
 
“Impending looked a little unlucky, he might have got a bit of a squeeze, Tessera (7th) was very good and Telperion (11th) probably needs more ground,” he said.

The O’Shea team was further buoyed by the performances of Chetwood (James McDonald) who won the Tab Rewrads Handicap and Magic Hurricane who finished a close third in the Listed Premier’s Cup at Rosehill.