Canterbury previews: John O’Shea has Group 1 goals for Awesome John
Trainer John O’Shea is content to see highly promising staying prospect Awesome John get his return out of the way at Canterbury on Friday night before focusing on some lofty Group 1 targets.
Awesome John holds nominations for both the Rosehill Guineas and Australian Derby but has a first-up assignment in the Quayclean Benchmark 72 Handicap (1550m).
O’Shea believes the son of Awesome Rock is a nice stayer in the making after the gelding showed promise in a late spring campaign that yielded two wins and several placings.
The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here!
“We will just get him out in trip and see what it brings,” O’Shea said.
“I think he did a good job last preparation and is still learning his craft but we certainly think he has got a bit to offer.
“He is good and is a young, progressive staying horse.”
Awesome John’s TAB odds have been slashed from $6 into $3.90 second favourite since markets opened for his return where apprentice Reece Jones takes the reigns.
O’Shea is hopeful of a strong showing to a solid foundation for the preparation ahead.
“We are just getting him started on Friday night and we will go from there,” O’Shea said.
“We are just hoping he can find a fair surface where you don’t have to find the rail or the front to win like it was the other day, otherwise it will make it hard for him.”
Talented filly Junqueira is O’Shea’s other runner on the final Canterbury card before it becomes a quarantine facility for The Championships international raiders.
Junqueira has made an excellent start to her career with two wins and two placings from four starts.
The daughter of Capitalist was narrowly beaten as an odds-on favourite last start but gets the chance to bounce back in the Yes Yes Yes First Yearling Benchmark 72 (1200m).
“She is going well,” O’Shea said.
“She is just a delicate filly that will are just bring along steadily and she seems to be going along nicely.
“We are just guided by performance how long we press on with her.
“I think she will run seven (furlongs) maybe somewhere down the line.”
Meanwhile, O’Shea will saddle up three stakes runners on Saturday with Saltaire (Sweet Embrace Stakes), Benaud (Chipping Norton Stakes) and Quantico (Liverpool City Cup).
Benaud returns from a long break after running 16th in the Caulfield Cup last October with the gelding set to chase a maiden Group 1 against the Godolphin superstar Anamoe in the Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m).
“He is good and is in great order,” O’Shea said.
“We are looking forward to get him there Saturday and I would say top five is probably the pass mark for him.
“Where he is drawn, he is going to find the back of the favourite so it’s an opportunity for him to stay in front of the stayers resuming.
“There are a couple there that have drawn a bit awkward so we should find ourselves midfield behind the favourite and hopefully running home over the top of few of them.”
Benaud is an outsider for the Chipping Norton with Chad Schofield set to ride the son of Reliable Man for the first time.
CUMMINGS HAS CAESARS READY TO REIGN IN THE CAPITAL
Double digit weight relief should have Caesars Palace feeling like a different horse in Friday’s $150,000 Affinity Electrical Canberra Mile (1600m) at Canberra.
Caesars Palace drops down 10.5kg off his last run to carry the lightweight of 54kg in the feature mile after running a massive race with a whopping 64.5kg last start.
The Anthony Cummings-trained gelding finished within a half-length of the winner in fourth when lugging a monster impost in town over 1800m.
“He had a fair bit of weight and his run was terrific the other day,” Cummings said.
“He just needed some room at the top of the straight and didn’t really get it.
“With the weight you need to be able to build momentum and he couldn’t do that.
“It was good effort and I think he is a nice horse and he certainly acts that way.”
Caesars Palace has already banked in excess of $380,000 in stakes earning and is well placed for another healthy payday with a trip to the nation’s capital.
Experienced hoop Jeff Penza will take the reins in the Canberra Mile where he is set to get plenty of favours from an appealing draw in barrier three.
“He is not out of the handicap I don’t think given what he has done and with the barrier and a guarantee of a good run, that’s a good recipe for him,” Cummings said.
“The distance range is comfortable for him and weight scale is in his favour a little more than last time.”
It’s an important day of racing at Canberra with the running of the $50,000 Black Opal Preview, $40,000 TAB Federal National Sprint Preview and $40,000 Canberra Guineas Preview.
The Waterhouse and Bott-trained Tu Qui Santuzza is the favourite for the Black Opal Preview, Matt Dale’s More The Merrier holds top billing in the Sprint Preview while Guineas Preview betting is headed by Keith Dryden’s Offspring.
