This is the dynamic for John O'Shea and Astern.

The Medaglia D'Oro colt has one defeat in  five runs, the Golden Slipper, the race O'Shea covets, but it is that loss that will shape his career and the tactics Godolphin will employ in Saturday's Golden Rose.

"I have always thought 'Why can't I win a Slipper?' Astern and others since I have been here [at Godolphin] have shown me why - because I haven't had a horse good enough," O'Shea said. "Then you still need everything to go right."

Astern drew wide in the Golden Slipper and O'Shea was determined to be positive on him. James McDonald charged across from the challenging draw and raced  outside of the leader in the Slipper but was left with nothing to give in the straight. Astern was one fo the first beaten and finished 11th, a run that flies in the face of his other form

It was a hard lesson to learn for the boys in blue but when Astern again drew 12  in the Golden Rose this week, O'Shea's first thought was again to be positive – positively negative.

"He'll go back from that gate. There is no other way to ride him. We want to ride him to relax and have him settle," O'Shea said. "I have spent the last four months of my life teaching him to relax and we not going to waste that on the big day.

"We've seen what he can do when he is relaxed and he is a very, very good horse."

After the Golden Slipper, Astern dead-heated with Rose rival El Divino in the Kindergarten Stakes, and was then spelled.

His barrier trials gave some insight into the bigger, stronger and relaxed Astern but it was the Run To The Rose that confirmed his lightning acceleration.

McDonald had him comfortable back in the field and  gapped his rivals when he released the brakes   before he held off Star Turn's late rally. The rest were left 3-1/2 lengths in their wake, led by another Godolphin colt, Impending.

"That's what [Astern] can do when he settles and we have seen it at home," O'Shea said. "Impending is a good horse with a soft draw [on Saturday] and will put himself in the race and only needs to get the breaks at the right time to be in the finish, so we have two good chances."

The form reference is strong for Astern,  which carried a penalty in the Run To The Rose and gave those, who will come to the Rose from that race two weeks ago, weight and a thumping by at least 3-1/2 lengths.

Astern has been solid in betting at Ladbrokes and is the Golden Rose favourite at $3.80 as Silver Shadow Stakes winner Omei Sword has drifted to $4, with Up And Coming Stakes winner Divine Prophet at $4.80.

The main market mover has been for Yankee Rose, which is first-up since winning the Sires' Produce Stakes after being Golden Slipper runner-up in the autumn. He has  come in from $9.50 to $5.50.