Trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton had high hopes for Getafix last year, nominating him for the Golden Rose, and the promising colt is beginning to justify that belief.
After dominating a race on the Kensington track last start, Getafix proved he belongs in Saturday company with a storming victory in the TAB Handicap (1400m) at Randwick, reeling in Cool Jakey in the final moments to win by a nose.
Getafix was considered one of the most exciting three-year-olds in the stable alongside Randwick Guineas winner Linebacker but needed time to mature.
“The things you can see him do in the mornings if you ask him to do them, he’s a big, powerful horse,” Charlton said.
“He has got good capability of going to stakes level in time.
“We will just keep building his confidence. He is a real confidence horse. He’s got the ability to feature in good races.”
Ridden patiently by Jason Collett, Getafix ($4) settled back before finding a gap late and finishing strongly to edge out Cool Jakey ($6.50), while It’s A Knockout ($2.05 betting favourite) was a length behind in third.
Charlton said it was promising to see Getafix match it with more seasoned horses in open grade.
“That was (benchmark) eighty-eight grade and he’s a three-year-old so that’s a fairly good effort,” he said.
Charlton also confirmed that Linebacker was back in work and expected to trial in a month, with the Epsom Handicap in October a key target.
Earlier on the card, Royal Supremacy ($19) gave a glimpse of his European ability with a gritty win in the Eremein Handicap (1800m).
Trainer Ciaron Maher’s assistant Johann Gerard-Dubord said the multiple Group placegetter had a bright future in Australia.
“He will stay a lot further than that and that should give him a bit of confidence,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He’s a spring horse. Now he’s up and going we will space his runs but he is obviously good fresh.
“There are some nice races. There is a race like the ‘Metrop’ if he’s up to better and all those Cup races so hopefully he will keep going the right way and we’ll see a lot more of him.”
For those looking to back emerging talent like Getafix or Royal Supremacy, check out the top Australian betting sites.