Impending takes centre stage

After playing the understudy role to his much-vaunted stablemate Astern at his past two runs, Impending steps onto centre stage as the main Godolphin attraction in the G2 Stan Fox Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, September 24.

Impending (John O’Shea/James McDonald) finished third to Astern in both the G2 Run To The Rose and the G1 Golden Rose and had four of his five opponents behind him in one or the other of those races.

In the Stan Fox he meets them all at level weights, he is out to a 1500m trip that looks ideal and blinkers have been added to his racing tack.

“He really came out of the Golden Rose in great order,” said trainer John O’Shea.

“He’s been a bit unlucky, he’s been knocking on the door against tough opposition, the company isn’t as strong here and he worked very, very well at Osborne Park on Wednesday.”

With Astern now to miss the G1 Caulfield Guineas, Impending has the opportunity to stake his claim for a race that is one of the more important on the Australian racing calendar.

On a well-balanced program at Rosehill, Godolphin provides a strong team to back up Impending with Pearls looking for another Stakes success in the G2 Golden Pendant, Old North in the G2 Shannon Stakes, Honeywine and Retaliation in the G3 Gloaming Stakes and Allergic and Alegria in the G3 Queen’s Cup.

Pearls (John O’Shea/James McDonald) comes to the Golden Pendant off a first-up win followed by a seemingly disappointing effort at her last run. But O’Shea is expecting her to improve considerably on Saturday.

“Her first-up run in the Toy Show was top class and then she drew wide and raced a bit fresh last time,” he said.

“She’s very well and we’re looking forward to getting back on the winners’ list.”

A G2 win and a couple of encouraging middle distance efforts in the Autumn raised high hopes for Old North (John O’Shea/Tim Clark) who ran below his best when resuming, but who is expected to improve in the Shannon.

“He had a light prep leading into his first-up run and he was very much above himself and that showed in his racing pattern, he was much too keen,” he said

“He’s getting out to a distance that’s more to his liking and that last run has certainly trimmed him up.”

The addition of a cross-over noseband is expected to help the four-year-old save himself for the business end of the race and so encourage some improvement.

The three-year-olds Honeywine (John O’Shea/James McDonald) and Retaliation (John O’Shea/Brenton Avdulla) will use the G3 Gloaming Stakes to test their staying potential with O’Shea looking for the former to maintain his form and the latter to improve on better ground and a bigger track.

“Honeywine is stepping up a lot in grade after a confidence building maiden win at his last start,” O’Shea said.

“He’s not a big horse but he can certainly stay so he should appreciate the 1800m.”

At Caulfield in Melbourne, Archives (John O’Shea/Craig Williams) will have his Guineas credentials examined in the G2 Caulfield Guineas Prelude.

“His run last start was a cracker. He needed the run, the last 100m just told on him,” O’Shea said.

The Caulfield track is a question mark but he’s an on-speed runner so hopefully he can find the fence and I think he’ll acquit himself very well.”