John O’Shea is content with a low-key involvement when the $10 million Everest heralds a new era for Sydney racing.
As head trainer of Godolphin, O’Shea was accustomed to being a focal point on some of the biggest days on the Australian racing calendar, notably when Hartnell ran in the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup.
O’Shea relinquished his position with the global organisation in April and is gradually building his stable as a public trainer at Randwick.
Kaepernick provided O’Shea’s first Sydney winner post-Godolphin earlier this month, and the six-year-old gelding potentially holds the key to any stable success on a watershed Saturday.
“It’s a thrill to be involved, it’s got the aura of Melbourne Cup day, Cox Plate day,” O’Shea said.
“When you run horses on those days you go there really excited and the the deeper we can go into the spring without any football on, the better.”
Kaepernick lines up in the Listed Sydney Stakes (1200m), 12 days after winning on debut for O’Shea at Warwick Farm.
“I was a bit concerned he did a bit too much when he won at Warwick Farm, he ran a great time with such a lot of weight,” O’Shea said.
Kaepernick, transferred from Hawkes Racing last month, lugged 61kg in his last start with Brenton Avdulla.
A $23 chance with the TAB, Kaepernick ($23) worked soundly on Tuesday with O’Shea’s other Sydney Stakes runner Kuro ($17), who is backing up from a seventh first-up in the Premiere Stakes a fortnight ago.
Premiere Stakes winner In Her Time, the first emergency for The Everest, is the $2.70 favourite
O’Shea also has nine-year-old Prince Cheri having his first start since arriving from David Vandyke’s stable as a $126 outsider in the Group Three Craven Plate (2000m).
