A day after the premature death of his sire Wootton Bassett, the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Napoleonic stamped his stakes potential with a tough win at his second start of the campaign at Warwick Farm.
A five-length winner at Wyong earlier in the month, Napoleonic dug deep to claim a benchmark race over 1200 metres at midweek metropolitan level under a strong ride from James McDonald.
🔴⚪️True to his name, Napoleonic (Wootton Bassett x Jolie Brise) showed commanding presence at @aus_turf_club Warwick Farm, beginning cleanly and perfectly placed by champion jockey @mcacajamez before surging to score by half a length, kicking the stable off to a strong start and… pic.twitter.com/c2zZXc1trv
— O'Shea & Charlton Racing (@JohnOSheaRacing) September 24, 2025
Napoleonic defeated the Michael Freedman-trained Ohope by half a length. Another win for the progeny of Wootton Bassett was a bright note for Coolmore after the shock death of the stallion earlier in the week.
“He’s a lovely kind animal and a son of Wootton Bassett and while he is a long way off the breeding barn, he is a chance and he's a beautiful colt,” trainer Tom Charlton said.
“We've been keen to build his confidence, so we'll just chat with James and probably see what sort of distance he might appreciate.
“There's a nice 1400 metre option in a couple of weeks or 1200, and we'll just build from there, but he’s definitely a horse that we hope will participate in the carnival.”
Out of the Fastnet Rock mare Jolie Brise, Napoleonic is a half-brother to stakes winner Ready Set Sail and a grandson of stakes winner Vestey.
He was a $360,000 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale purchase for Dean Hawthorne on behalf of Jonathan Munz’s Pinecliff Racing.
