A fantastic start to the day at Caulfield and Randwick for John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, with Getafix winning the opener at Caulfield while Athabascan (FR) scored a fighting win in the Group III The Star St Leger Stakes (2600m) at Randwick.
Ridden by Tommy Berry, the 6-year-old son of Almanzor (FR) went stride for stride with the Ciaron Maher-trained Wyclif over the final 100m to win on the nod by a short-head.
Waltham (Roaring Lion) was a half-length back in third.
Athabascan (FR) won for the first time since the Group III Colin Stephen Stakes at Randwick last September, but John O’Shea said he rarely runs a bad race.
“We’ve been so happy with him, we haven’t been disappointed with him, but he just hasn’t had circumstances to suit. Today, he got them, and he got the job done,” O’Shea said.
“The Melbourne Cup has been on our agenda all season; we just needed a positive run today to get him back in the game. I think he drops five or six kilos into the Cup, and he’ll run a very good race because he’s a good two-miler.”
“He got a good ride today, and he showed what he was capable of. He drops significantly in weight going into the Cup; that run will top him off. We look forward to the first Tuesday in November.”
Sporting the silks of OTI Racing, Athabascan (FR) is a half-brother to Group 1 ATC Tancred Stakes winner Arapaho (Lope de Vega),.
Stakes-placed three times in France for Andre Fabre, Athabascan (FR) is out of the stakes-winning Dansil mare Azabara, who also produced the Listed Saint-Cloud Prix Dahlia winner Alula Borealis (Kendargent).
Athabascan (FR) is one of twenty stakes-winner for Cambridge Stud's Almanzor (FR), a 3-time Group 1 winning son of Wootton Bassett (GB).
