Starspangledbanner had yearlings sell for up to 420,000 guineas at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 last week and was also making news on the racetrack with his progressive two year-old Starzintheireyes winning the Group III Zetland Stakes (1m2f) at Newmarket overnight.
Trained by Ralph Beckett and ridden by Rossa Ryan, Starzintheireyes was having just his third start following a second on debut and then a win at Leicester last month over 7f.
He produced a dogged finish on the wet ground to win by a length over Green Storm, a son of Windsor Park shuttler Circus Maximus (IRE).
Rossa Ryan has ridden Starzintheireyes at each of his three starts and believes there are more wins in store.
“The day Starszintheireyes won at Leicester, he was always going to win but it took him forever to organise himself. He's still learning and he was a bit gassy to post, so I took it upon myself to drop him right in today, just to get him to relax early,” Ryan said.
“He did it well, they went a good honest gallop the whole way and on this ground I thought he'd outbattle everything if it comes down to it, but I just need to organise him, hence sitting into him earlier than probably everyone else. He's a big stayer, a big galloping horse. This sort of ground and worse are his conditions. He's gonna grow up a lot from two to three, physically he's all there, mentally he's coming slowly but he's nowhere near the end destination.”
Starzintheireyes runs in the colours of well known owner Marc Chan and was purchased for 160,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale in 2022.
He is the first winner from stakes-placed Nathaniel mare Crystal Hope, a three-quarter sister to tough staying stakes-winner Crystal Pegasus, who won his stakes races in Australia for Chris Waller. The family also features Group I winning stayers Crystal Ocean and Hillstar, so it’s not hard to see where Starzintheireyes gets his stamina from.
Starzintheireyes is the 46th stakes-winner for Starspangledbanner, who stands at Coolmore Australia this spring at a fee of $44,000.
