A Group III winner on Epsom Derby day, four year-old Starsspangledbanner mare Breege can mix her form, but she put in a career best performance at York overnight to win the Group II City of York Stakes (7f).
Trained by John and Sean Quinn, Breege produced a powerful finish from back in the field, surging past her rivals for Colin Keane to win by a length and a half taking her overall record to three wins and eight placings from 17 starts.
“Breege has always shown a little bit of class. Before she won a Group race [at Epsom] she'd been placed in five Group and Listed races,” said co-trainer John Quinn.
“We worked her last Monday, we had her in the Celebration Mile and this. I rang Andrew Black [owner] and said, 'I'm not saying she'll win, but I've never seen her work as well'. The money York put up, which we're very grateful for, is immense. He said we should go to York and I'm delighted we did.”
Breege is a homebred for Chasemore Farm and is a three-quarter sister-in-blood to Starspangledbanner’s Group I winner The Wow Signal. She is the best of two winners from Wowcha, a winning half-sister by Zoffany to Group I winner The Wow Signal and also Group winners Matrika and Unicorn Lion as well as stakes-winner Miss Infinity.
Breege is one of 10 stakes-winners this year – three of them Group I winners - for Starspangledbanner, who stands at Coolmore this spring at a fee of $44,000.
