Emerging sprinter Schwarz has given Tom Charlton and John O’Shea their first Group win as training partners, clinging to victory over a fast-finishing Arctic Glamour in the Missile Stakes at Randwick.
Charlton worked for O’Shea for five years before he was promoted to co-trainer in July and the latter was happy to stand back on Saturday to ensure Charlton could have his moment in the sun.
”It’s great, but I don’t deserve any of the accolades,” Charlton said.
“I am very thankful to John for the opportunity. I was in the right place at the right time.”
So was Schwarz, who stalked the speed under James Mcdonald before responding to the champion hoop’s urgings and surging to the front inside the final 200m.
Arctic Glamour ($6) emerged from the pack late and dived on the line, but Schwarz ($2.50 fav) held her at bay by a short head with Shezanalister ($7.50) another long neck back third.
Charlton said the four-year-old did well to get the first-up win in a race that wasn’t always on his radar and would now be considered for a start in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield next month.
“He’s a lightly raced horse. He only had one run as a two-year-old, so I think he is still learning and gaining confidence,” Charlton said.
“We will take a breath, speak to the boss and the team, but there is the potential for a race like the Memsie or races in Sydney. It’s a long spring so we will just work that one out.”
McDonald felt Schwarz’s win had more merit than the narrow margin suggested.
“He didn’t have anything go his way, he was wide throughout, but he travelled into it nicely,” McDonald said.
“I think he is obviously the best horse in the race, but he had to tough it out. He was a sitting duck a long way from home.”
Arctic Glamour’s trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou were disappointed she went down so narrowly after getting out of her ground early, but they took positives in her strong return.
A slew of races will be considered for the four-year-old as she heads towards the Group 2 Golden Pendant (1400m) at Rosehill on September 28.
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr -trained Golden Path extended his winning sequence to three with a strong performance in the Premier’s Cup Prelude (1800m) a race later.
Stable representative Ben Elam said the addition of blinkers four starts ago had turned the gelding’s attitude around.
“(Jockey) Chad (Schofield) said that first start he had those blinkers on that he really switched on and wanted to savage the line, which is what we need to see from him because he did tend to think about it,” Elam said.
“He’s a horse that is in form and when they’re going like this, you don’t have to do much with them other than keep them happy.
“We’ve got a few targets for him. We will space his runs a little bit, the Premier’s Cup is in two weeks then there are a couple of options we can fiddle around with with some good prizemoney.”
Golden Path ($5) scooted through between runners to defeat Manzoice ($31) by 1-1/2 lengths with Redstone Well ($19) third.