Linebacker out to continue 3YOs heady G1 Doncaster Mile run

Linebacker remains the horse to beat in the Doncaster Mile, with trainer John O’Shea satisfied his three-year-old has enjoyed a flawless preparation leading into Saturday’s feature.

Despite drawing barrier 14 on Tuesday night, the colt continues to head the market at $6. O’Shea is full of praise for the way the horse has progressed this campaign.

“The things we can control we have under control,” O’Shea said.

“He is a very fit, healthy horse. Whether we’re good enough, we’re going to determine that on Saturday.

The preparation has gone exactly how we have wanted. He will have a couple of nice easy days going into the race on Saturday.

The horse is in great form, the rider (Zac Lloyd) is in great form and the stable is very relaxed with his preparation.”

O’Shea has taken a page out of Les Bridge’s playbook, adopting a campaign similar to that of last year’s Doncaster winner Celestial Legend. Both horses won the Randwick Guineas and were freshened for the Doncaster with a barrier trial in between.

Having placed in the Guineas last year with Café Millennium, O’Shea feels the 2024 edition was stronger based on times and race shape.

“Last year, we ran third in the Guineas and there was about half a dozen of them all going to the line together so I was thinking maybe the Guineas wasn’t that strong,” he said.

“This year’s Guineas, they ran time, there was a long distance from first to last, they went a good gallop.”

While Linebacker is yet to face older horses, his lightweight of 49kg could prove crucial in what is traditionally a high-pressure race. Topweight Another Wil will carry 56.5kg.

“It’s a matter of analysing how he lines up against what was a very strong George Ryder Stakes and a very strong All-Star Mile,” he said.

“Those horses are probably weighted up to their best in a Doncaster, so we’re probably going to have to utilise our weight advantage and hopefully get a position in the running that gives us a chance to be in the finish.”

Betting remained largely unchanged after the draw, with Gringotts and Tom Kitten holding steady at $7 after drawing barriers six and one respectively. Japanese raider Geoglyph drifted out to $26 after drawing widest in the field of 20 plus four emergencies.