Having finished second the Saturday prior, beaten three parts of a length over today’s track and trip, Clinton McDonald’s Starspangledbanner mare Ahha Ahha was rewarded for her consistency, recording success in the $200,000 G3 VRC Matron Stakes (1600m).
Contesting her first black type race, the 4yo jumped away on the third line of betting with Danny O’Brien’s last start G3 Tressady Stakes runner-up Sea What I See (IRE) sent off the punter’s elect.
With the favourite working her way to the lead from barrier 2, the Gavin Bedggood trained Jennilala went forward to settle in second while Ben Melham and Ahha Ahha sat handy in third position, getting the run of the race outside Philia.
With the race leader getting a comfortable run up front, the grey cornered for home on top, but both Jennilala and Ahha Ahha were starting to reel in the leader, while the tangerine silks of Te Akau Racing were coming down the outside aboard the Mark Walker trained Damask Rose (NZ).
As Ahha Ahha took the lead with 100m to run, Damask Rose put in a late lunge, but couldn’t get her head in front with the McDonald trained mare securing her first black type victory, surprisingly at her first start black type start!
Fresh from success last Saturday in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes with filly Streisand, Clinton McDonald highlighted how great the win was for her owners.
"So it's just great for all the owners,” said McDonald. “Ross and Andy, who's been really sick, I've got to send my best wishes to Andy over in Hong Kong. He had a heart attack and hadn't been in a good way. Bonnie and Wayne and Tony Blackshaw and Dom.”
“So a great ownership group, great effort by the staff to get her to win a Group Three. As trainers, that's what we need to do with these mares, is try to win black-type races."
While the mare was up in grade, and racing in her first black type race, McDonald pointed to the performance of another mare as a comparison.
“I sort of looked at Paradise City of Peter Moody's when it won that group race, and I thought, there's not much between these mares. You know, they take it in turns. If you can get the right run in transit, you're a chance.
“She's obviously been in terrific form. There's probably reasons you could say she should have won her last four. But she's run three seconds and a fifth, so we knew she was racing well, we knew that she's got good ability. So why not have a crack at it? There's nothing to lose and more to gain.
“I was glad Ben was on, a little bit of aggression, and she's been the bridesmaid, now he's turned her into the bride, so that's good.”
Jockey Ben Melham seems to have had a little bit of a tumultuous relationship wit the mare.
“Initially, early doors she didn't like me, this horse,” said Melham. “Jamie was riding her and she'd been running well for Jamie, the backup might've helped her, we had a beautiful run today and she just seems to hit that flat spot and just get a little bit out of her ground between the 600 to the 400, I was in a position where I made sure that didn't happen today, put her right up in the firing line before the corner and thankfully she held on."
“I'm at the bottom of my weight limit a bit, but I rode her a half kilo over so I was just thinking what the connections would say if I got beat on the line but thankfully, we don't have to worry about that.”
Winning by a short half head over Damask Rose, with the favourite battling on for third, Ahha Ahha took her record to four wins and seven placed efforts from 16 starts with earnings of $397,975.
Purchased for $250,000 from the draft of breeder Rosemont Stud at the Inglis Premier yearling sale by her trainer, Ahha Ahha is the one of five winners, and first at black type level from six to the races out of the Pivotal mare Tragic Moment (USA).
Unfortunately, Tragic Moment hasn’t had the best luck since foaling Ahha Ahha, with her next being her current filly by Hanseatic foaled in September, before the mare was covered by second season sire Doull, the G2-winning son of Champion sire Snitzel.
Ahha Ahha became the 60th individual stakes winner for the four-time G1 winner Starspangledbanner.
With seven Group/Listed-winning juveniles in 2025 including G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Gstaad and G1 Fillies Mile and G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Precise, connections felt the son of Choisir was better suited to standing at Coolmore’s Irish base at a fee of €60,000 and has not shuttled back to his homeland since the 2024 season.
Starspangledbanner will be represented by two lots at the upcoming Inglis Easter yearling sale including Sledmere Stud’s Lot 399, the three-quarter-brother to G1 Hong Kong Champions Mile winner Beauty Eternal.
