Linebacker produces super win in the Guineas
A week after Feroce became the first elite-level winner for Waikato Stud’s young gun stallion Super Seth (Dundeel), another of his sons Linebacker doubled the sire’s top-flight tally when he got the better of crack colt Broadsiding (Too Darn Hot) to claim the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and in the process became the first Group 1 winner for young co-trainer Tom Charlton.
Linebacker had to settle for second behind Broadsiding in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) last April, but fast forward 11 months and the gelding proved too strong for the Godolphin colt on this occasion.
Coming into the race off the back of a disappointing sixth behind his old rival in the Hobartville Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m), where he was sent out the $3.75 second-elect, Linebacker was sent off a $9 hope in Saturday’s Classic which had him on the fourth line of betting.
Ridden for the first time by Zac Lloyd, Linebacker, who Charlton trains in partnership with John O’Shea, tracked the pacesetting Tenbury Wells (Fastnet Rock) throughout.
Turning for home, Linebacker soon loomed up alongside that rival before then hitting the lead with just over 300 metres left to run.
Sent for the winning line by Lloyd, Linebacker produced a stylish turn of foot to kick a length clear of Broadsiding, who by this point had made his move to challenge under James McDonald, and was always holding the $1.60 market leader inside the closing stages to score by 0.6 lengths.
The Team Hawkes-trained Swiftfalcon (Exceedance) finished a further 0.3 lengths back in third.
Lloyd, who had been replaced aboard Broadsiding by J-Mac for this weekend’s race, was delighted with the result.
“It was obviously a big privilege to ride Broadsiding last start, but Linebacker today, it’s not a bad exchange,” he said.
“It panned out perfectly. I just wanted to work with Linebacker, not against him. He broke well and he had a nice bunny in Tenbury Wells. His asset is his big long stride, and he sustained his gallop nicely.
“My pre-race strategy was to get both Broadsiding and Swiftfalcon uncomfortable, because I feel Linebacker is a superior miler, and if we left it to a sit and sprint, they’re probably sharper than him.
“He got to me at about the 200 metres, and I thought it was a bit sooner than I would have liked, but when he got to about a neck, my bloke held him quite comfortably the last 100 metres. It was a very good effort and I’m super pleased for both John and Tom.”
Charlton also cut a delighted character as he registered his first Group 1 win in partnership with O’Shea.
“I know the tally of crossbar hits we’ve had in Group 1s over the last few years, so it’s great,” Charlton said.
“This horse has pleased us all the way since we gelded him. You could see a long way out that he was in a really good rhythm today. They were going at a high speed, but he looked comfortable.
“He’s always been a very talented horse. Last run, I just was convinced it wasn’t his true running. He just got in a better position today and it worked out well.”
Saturday’s victory was the 30th at the elite-level for Charlton’s training partner O’Shea, and his first since fellow Kiwi-bred Lion’s Roar (Contributer) landed the same race in 2021.
“We were quietly optimistic,” O’Shea said. “You never want to be too optimistic against a great horse like Broadsiding but I said to the boys earlier in the season, I thought last year when Militarize got beaten he was second-up and I think if he was third-up he wins.
“I wanted to go into it third-up and see if we could out-tough them. That was our plan today and it probably worked in our favour.
“It’s exciting for Tom. It’s great because he’s a great young lad and he’s brought so much to our organisation.
“He actually stayed to buy this horse as a yearling. We all went home and he stayed at Karaka in the cold waiting to buy him, so it’s very special for him.”
Bred by Jonathan Munz’ GSA Bloodstock, Linebacker (3 g Super Seth – Garden Of Swans by Oasis Dream) was purchased by O’Shea and Suman Hedge Bloodstock out of Haunui Farm’s Book 1 draft at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale for $160,000.
He is out of the unraced Oasis Dream (Green Desert) mare Garden Of Swans, who herself is a half-sister to Shadwell Estate’s Group 1 winner turned sire Mukhadram (Shamardal).