The 1100m juvenile maiden at Warwick Farm on Wednesday was the starting point for Basquiat, the Snitzel colt that topped the 2021 Magic Millions Yearling Sale when selling for $1.9million, but at the winning post he couldn’t quite match Zoustar filly North Star Lass.
Prepared by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, North Star Lass had shown good ability in two recent trials and ran right up to that on debut, enjoying a good run from gate one under Tim Clark.
She made light work of the heavy ground and found the line strongly to win by three-quarters of a length over promising Basquiat, who also performed well and will take good benefit from the run.
“She’s a nice filly going forward and there was a lot to like about the manner in which she won today,” said Adrian Bott.
“That will open up some Black Type options for her in the future.”
Tim Clark was full of praise for North Star Lass and knows her well having ridden her in both previous trials.
“She’s a very straight forward filly and is lovely to do anything with,” he said.
“She has the size and scope to suggest she has a lot more to offer.”
Entered for the Group II ATC Percy Sykes Stakes, North Star Lass was a $260,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Rosemont Stud draft and was bred by them in partnership.
North Star Lass comes from a good fillies family and is the second winner from Group III placed Snitzel mare Sheila’s Star, a half-sister to stakes-winner Jacqueline Rouge and daughter of Group III winner North East Sheila.
Group I winning mare Instant Celebrity features in the pedigree which has also worked previously with Zoustar to produce HK stakes-winner Healthy Happy.
Rosemont Stud sold the current yearling from Sheila’s Star, a colt by Capitalist, for $460,000 at Magic Millions this year to Mick Price Racing & Breeding Pty Ltd.
She has a filly to follow from the first crop of Zoustar’s brilliant son Zousain and unfortunately missed last spring to Rosemont Stud’s young gun Hanseatic.
The encouraging effort of Basquiat is good news for Widden Stud, who co-bred and sold him as a yearling at Magic Millions and they will offer the second foal from his stakes-winning dam Bonny O’Reilly at Inglis Easter as Lot 79.
The colt is by North Star Lass’s sire Zoustar and the family features current Group I performing 3YO’s Espiona and Forgot You, so we may expect to see the best of Basquiat next season.
