AAP Horse Racing
Double to John O'Shea keeps roll going
Trainer John O'Shea - AAP
John O'Shea's resurgence has continued, with the trainer celebrating two winners at Warwick Farm.
The double took O'Shea's tally to 10 for the year after he began with three winners at Randwick on January 1.
O'Shea has steadily re-established himself as an independent trainer after leaving international operation Godolphin in 2017.
Debutant Broadside Armour was the first of the O'Shea-trained horses to win on Wednesday when he was successful in the Darley Maiden (1400m).
Broadside Armour was a $5.50 chance so his win was not a great surprise but punters were caught off guard when All Saints' Eve claimed victory in the Mode Handicap at $51 at her third start.
The filly is raced by a group that includes Waikato Stud proprietor Mark Chittick, who stood her sire, dual Doncaster Mile winner Sacred Falls, at the famous New Zealand farm.
Sacred Falls died in December from a liver condition in his fifth season as a stallion.
"I thought the price was wrong and I said as much publicly that she would run better than her price indicated," O'Shea said.
"The progeny of Sacred Falls are lovely horses. They are very relaxed.
"We put the hood (blinkers) on her to get her mind on the job."
All Saints' Eve was ridden by visiting English jockey Tom Marquand, who is spending his second northern winter in Sydney at O'Shea's behest.
"Tom is an incredibly strong rider and has done a good deal of work on her," O'Shea said.
"In fact I wish he could stay here,"
Marquand has ridden four winners in less than two weeks and said All Saints' Eve delivered on her promise.
"She is relatively straightforward," he said.
'The extra 200 metres made a difference today. I think she will get further because she is still working it out."
O'Shea and Marquand were foiled in the Schweppes Handicap (1200m) when the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Yitai Synergy held off Private Thoughts by a short neck.
Yitai Synergy was ridden by premier Sydney jockey James McDonald, who came to Australia from New Zealand as an apprentice in 2011 to join O'Shea.
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