Linebacker a lightweight threat in Doncaster
Richard Edmunds - Raceform • April 4th, 2025 4:30 PM
The New Zealand-bred Gr. 1 Randwick Guineas winner Linebacker will carry only 49 kilograms in his quest to uphold a proud tradition of three-year-old success in the A$4 million Gr. 1 The Star Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday.
Three-year-olds have won Sydney’s most famous handicap nine times in the last quarter-century – Over (2000), Assertive Lad (2001), Racing To Win (2006), Haradasun (2007), Triple Honour (2008), Sacred Falls (2013), Kermadec (2015), Brutal (2019) and Celestial Legend (2024). Triple Honour, Sacred Falls, Kermadec and Brutal were all New Zealand-bred.
Linebacker comes from the first crop of Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth, who sired the first three Group One winners of his career within the month of March. Feroce won the Australian Guineas on March 1, followed by Linebacker in the Randwick Guineas on March 8 and standout two-year-old filly La Dorada in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes at Trentham last Saturday.
The TAB rated Linebacker a $7 chance in their fixed-odds market for the Doncaster on Tuesday. He shared favouritism with fellow New Zealand-bred Gringotts, who was a last-start winner of the Gr. 1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill on March 22. Gringotts will carry 55.5 kilograms. (Click here for the full TAB Market)
Co-trainer John O’Shea reported to Racenet this week that Linebacker has continued to go the right way since his Randwick Guineas triumph, in which he beat subsequent Gr. 1 Rosehill Guineas winner Broadsiding.
“Linebacker is a really tough, galloping horse and he will probably run further in time,” O’Shea said. “He’s going very well, although I do think this year’s version is an outstanding Doncaster.”
O’Shea noted that Linebacker will carry less weight than many of the Doncaster-winning three-year-olds in the recent past. A quarter of a century ago, Over won with 51.5 kilograms, followed by Assertive Lad with 54, Racing To Win with 51, Haradasun with 53, Triple Honour with 51, Sacred Falls with 53 and Kermadec with 51. More recent winners Brutal and Celestial Legend carried 49.5 and 49 kilograms respectively.
“I think Linebacker is probably better performed than some of those previous three-year-old winners at this stage of his career, and he gets into the Doncaster with less weight,” O'Shea said.
O’Shea and his training partner Tom Charlton also have a New Zealand-bred contender for Saturday’s Gr. 1 Australian Derby with King Of Thunder. The Tivaci gelding was a close third in the rescheduled Gr. 2 Tulloch Stakes at Rosehill on Tuesday.
“It's what we were hoping for, to see him execute well and finish off well,” O'Shea said. “He's not overly happy in that ground and it probably negated his finish a little. But he was good through the line, he pulled up well and that was a nice hitout for Saturday.”
