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By Ray Hickson

He’s the problem child out to complete his redemption story in one of the great races of the Australian turf.

Trainer Tom Charlton (Pic: Grant Guy)

Linebacker has no doubt been a source of great frustration for trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton in his short career to date, for well documented reasons.

The transformation of Linebacker into a genuine Group 1 performer will be complete if the three-year-old can make it successive wins at the top level in the $4m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Charlton said there was a great sense of satisfaction when Linebacker put it all together to win the Randwick Guineas a month ago after a spring that was forgettable, for reasons everyone could see on race day, and cost him his colt status.

“In the spring we had high hopes for him as a colt, he was performing well then race day he was undoing himself with his manners,’’ Charlton said.

“Things probably didn’t go his way in the first couple of runs and in the Guineas we saw him at his best. He put his best attributes to the fore and we ended up with the result we got.

“There’s only so many excuses you can make. If he’d have got beaten in the Guineas he’d have been beaten fair and square.”

Linebacker, $5.50 with TAB on Thursday, will be out to emulate Celestial Legend’s deeds of last year and claim the Randwick Guineas-Doncaster double with 49kg on his back.

O’Shea has won the Doncaster three times including once with a three-year-old, Racing To Win in 2006, and having that knowledge to tap into tells Charlton they’re on the right track with Linebacker.

“John’s the boss and a person you take great confidence in knowing he’s had good success in this race and knows the sort of horse you need to have,’’ he said.

“That four weeks between runs we were happy with, we didn’t feel he needed another run.

“We ticked him over with a nice confidence boosting trial, obviously we wanted to do something with him in that period because he came through the run feeling particularly good.

“He builds through his gears and we wanted him to do that in a confidence boosting trial and have a nice blow.

“Zac Lloyd’s had a couple of rides on him now since the run, we’ve had a really good preparation and couldn’t fault it in any way.”

Charlton was content enough with Linebacker’s barrier, which will become 11 if the emergencies aren’t required, saying it should give Lloyd plenty to work with.

“We wouldn’t want to ride him negatively, we’d want a nice fast tempo and a position where he can attack,’’ he said.

A Doncaster-Derby double is within reach for O’Shea and Charlton after King Of Thunder showed he was on target with a closing third in the Tulloch Stakes (2000m) on Tuesday.

O’Shea hasn’t won an Australian Derby, Benaud ran a close second in 2022, and Charlton said he was pleased with King Of Thunder’s effort at Rosehill suggesting he’s a more seasoned horse now than the one that ran seventh in the VRC Derby in the spring.

“That’s what we came here to see, it’s unfortunate we didn’t quite get the job done but the Derby has been the main aim,’’ he said.

“From what we can see he pulled up very well.

Linebacker wins the Randwick Guineas

“Barrier one probably wasn’t what we’re looking for but if I can pick out some positives there are a lot of good horses around us, Aeliana in two, Plymouth in three and Shanwah in four, so that gives us options to have the right horses to take us into the race.

“He’s definitely a true stayer, he presents as a live chance in what looks a pretty good Derby this year.”

Tom Charlton on Athabascan (race 3): “He came up against a well handicapped horse the other day and he’s going to get to a favoured trip at Randwick. He’s progressing well, he’s well weighted and he’s a chance. It’s a $300,000 race, and there’s no penalty, he’s ready to win one of these races.”

All the fields, form and replays for Day 1 of The Star Championships at Randwick