Charlton bids to emulate the achievements of his famous father
Given that Roger Charlton trained the winner of the English Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) in only his second season as a trainer, it would be entirely fitting if, a quarter of a century later, son Tom could follow in his famous father’s footsteps – albeit on the other side of the world.
Back in 1990, Quest For Fame (Rainbow Quest) catapulted Charlton Snr into the limelight when he powered away from his rivals in the Derby at Epsom, delivering a second classic success for his young trainer in the space of a week following victory for Sanglamore (Sharpen Up) in the French Derby (Gr 1, 2100m) the previous Sunday.
Given that he was born five years later in 1995, Charlton Jnr has only relived the moment via videotape and through his father’s recounting of the momentous occasion; but he is now hoping to emerge from the patriarchal shadow and add another chapter to the family history when O’sheamus (Shamus Award) and One Step Closer (Castelvecchio) contest the Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.
The pair will need to turn the tables on dominant favourite Observer (Ghaiyyath), having trailed in his wake in the Moonee Valley Vase (Gr 2, 2040m) last Saturday. In mitigation, O’sheamus struck interference at the top of the straight but still stuck on strongly to finish third, one place ahead of his stablemate who was also making up late ground.
Charlton, who trains in partnership with John O’Shea, readily concedes that Observer – raced by O’Shea’s former employers Godolphin – commands respect and warrants favouritism; but he is also of the view that their Derby duo may just possess superior reserves of stamina.
Kerrin McEvoy, whose otherwise glittering CV is missing a Derby win, is booked to ride O’sheamus, who sits on the fourth line of betting; while Jye McNeil will get the leg-up on $34 chance One Step Closer.
“As an Englishman I’d obviously love to win a Derby, so it’s great that we head into the race with two good chances,” Charlton told ANZ News.
“I thought O’sheamus in particular had an excellent prep run for the Derby in the Vase. Coming out of a mile maiden, he really appreciated the step up to 2000 metres. He’s a big horse and he handled the occasion well, he probably just got hampered at the top of the straight which broke his momentum and cost him a length or two. I don’t think he would have won because the winner looked a class above, but I do think he could have finished second with even luck.
“It’s going to be difficult to turn the tables on Observer and if he runs up to his form in the Vase, then he probably wins the race. But you see short-priced favourites get beaten all the time, and he still has to run out the trip so there has to be a slight query. He has to tick that box and if the race is truly run and turns into a staying test, I’d be pretty confident that it would suit both our horses.”
The pair were picked up for a little over $100,000 at the 2024 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, with One Step Closer acquired for $65,000 from the Arrowfield Stud draft and O’sheamus purchased privately after he fell just short of the $40,000 reserve price Lime Country Thoroughbreds had set in the ring.
The relatively modest outlay is perhaps indicative of the fact their respective sires aren’t necessarily renowned for producing precocity and pizzazz at an early age, as Charlton explained.
“We like buying these types of horses to target the Derbies and other classic races,” he said.
“I often think you can find some value when you’re shopping for potential Derby types, because they might not be as flashy or desirable as the sprinters. We paid around $100,000 for the two of them and they’re now lining up in a very prestigious race worth $2 million, so it just goes to show that you don’t always have to buy from the top shelf to get a good result.
“Their owners have already had a big win and regardless of what happens on Saturday, I’m sure they’re going to have a lot of fun with them in the future.”
While their respective ownership groups, including One Step Closer’s managing owner Carl Holt of Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) fame, will be part of the bumper crowd expected to descend on Flemington for the opening stanza of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, there are 10 million reasons for Charlton to remain in Sydney to oversee Linebacker’s (Super Seth) tilt at the big-money Golden Eagle (1500m).
O’Shea will fly down to Melbourne to saddle up the stable’s Derby runners, and the need to divide and conquer between states is perhaps one of the reasons why the senior statesman promoted the young Englishman from his previous position as racing manager to training partner in mid-2024. Since then, the pair have enjoyed notable success headlined by a trio of Group 1 triumphs earlier this year.
While Schwarz (Zoustar) will be busy covering mares at Rosemont Stud, his fellow elite–level winners will be stepping out at Randwick on Saturday as both Maison Louis (Super Seth) and Linebacker both bid to enhance their burgeoning reputations.
Linebacker hit the headlines recently when he made subsequent The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) look distinctly second-rate in a trial, and he promptly backed up that semi-competitive performance with a dominant raceday display in the Silver Eagle (1300m).
While there was no Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) in that lead-up contest to Saturday’s $10 million extravaganza, Chalrton believes the step up to 1500 metres should bring out the best in Linebacker, who has drawn perfectly in barrier five.
“He’s pretty versatile so the draw didn’t worry us too much, but obviously if you were going to choose a barrier in a big field then five would be near the top of your list,” he said.
“He came through his win in the Silver Eagle really well and we would expect him to be even better up in trip and with that additional fitness under his belt. He had a small setback after the Todman Stakes so it hasn’t been an ideal preparation, but he’s going as well as we could possibly hope heading into the Golden Eagle.
“I think it works in his favour that the race will be run at Randwick this year, because he’s got a very good record there. The track and distance both look perfect for him so we’re as confident as we can be with a quality mare like Autumn Glow in the field. You also have to respect the Japanese horse [Panja Tower], they have won this race before so know what it takes and Japan is one of the strongest racing jurisdictions in the world.”
As for Maison Louis, the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner will contest the Rosehill Gold Cup (Gr 3, 2000m) – confusingly run at Randwick – following his minor placing behind Lindermann (Lonhro) in the Hill Stakes (Gr 2, 1900m).
“We toyed with the idea of running Maison Louis in the Craven Plate, but we weren’t too keen to take on Lindermann given the form he’s in and the drop back to handicap company probably also suits our horse,” said Charlton.
“He’s a really tough horse who was born and bred in New Zealand, and they tend to produce them tough over there. Super Seth is doing an exceptional job at stud, he’s an exciting stallion and we’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on his stallions at the sales next year. We’re lucky enough to have quite a few of his progeny in our stables, and they’re all showing at least some degree of talent.”
In the more immediate future, the stable will hope to double their tally of Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) runners when Quietness (Bated Breath) aims to justify favouritism in the Bendigo Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) on Wednesday afternoon.
Last-start Moonee Valley Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2500m) runner-up Athabascan (Almanzor) is already safely ensconced inside the all-important top 24 on the Melbourne Cup order of entry, with Declan Bates booked to ride him. However, in all likelihood Quietness would need to win the Bendigo Cup and acquire a weight penalty in order to join her stablemate in the starting gates on the first Tuesday in November.
After missing the start in the Coongy Cup (Gr 3, 2000m), her winning prospects were severely diminished but the mare still produced some impressive closing splits which bode well for the step up to 2400 metres at Bendigo.
“When she missed the kick in the Coongy we probably knew our fate, because we’d planned to have her in a much more prominent position in the run,” said Charlton, who also revealed that the stable is giving some consideration to running their ultra-impressive last-start winner Napoleonic (Wootton Bassett) in the C.F. Orr Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m).
“But she finished off really well and she’s ready to win a race now. Hopefully she can jump cleanly and roll forward from the wide gate. She would pass the ballot if she runs in the top three, but she’d probably have to win the race to get a start in the Melbourne Cup. If she were to do that then we’d obviously have to give it serious consideration, because she’s down in the weights and these mares can often hold their form.”