News - STAR TURN (AUS)
James Cummings got his first winner as a trainer in Hong Kong a week ago with Farnan gelding Grand Eagle and he got his second at Sha Tin on Sunday when another son of Farnan in Speedy Power, who saluted as favourite.
Highway races at this time of year are keenly contested as country trainers look to expose quality sprinters with designs on the $2million ATC The Kosciuszo (1200m) on October 17 and unbeaten Star Turn gelding Lord Remlap stated his case at Randwick on Saturday.
The annual Vinery Stud stallion parades last weekend are always a highlight on the Hunter Valley stud tour given their famed breakfast is the perfect way to start a long day of looking at horses and this year’s stallion roster is a ripper.
Jumping away the favourite off the back of three barrier trial efforts, John Bannister's Star Turn filly Amajicstar was all class on debut, giving nothing else a chance in the run to pull clear for an impressive win over 900m at Newcastle on Thursday.
Winner of the Group I Tatts Tiara in 2022, speedy Star Turn mare Startantes was subsequently bought by Widden Stud at the 2024 Inglis Chairman’s Sale for $1.15 million and she was back in sale ring at Magic Millions on Wednesday to dissolve a partnership.
There were a couple of lightly raced maiden winners at Wyong on Thursday that jumped out as horses to follow, a flashy gelding by Star Turn and a Written Tycoon filly that has had plenty happening in her pedigree since she was purchased from Inglis Easter.
A lookalike for his sire Star Turn, this Ciaron Maher trained colt made a winning debut at Seymour on Thursday as a hot favourite.
Vinery Stud’s Star Turn was identified in a Breednet story earlier this year as a sire that is on the rise in Hong Kong and he started the new season with a winning double at Happy Valley on Wednesday evening.
When Angel Ladder won the first race at Geelong coming out of the VRC Next Gen Series Sprinters Final won by Jimmy Recard, you would think punters would have looked closely at Redders in the following event coming out of the same race, but he slipped under their guard.
The Hong Kong racing season is over for another year, so a look at their sire tables by earnings and winners is always interesting and there is no surprise at the top with now pensioned Deep Field claiming his fourth consecutive champion sire title, but given he is now out of the picture the big question is what sires will replace him?
With an affiliation for the family, having trained his Group 1-winning full sister as well as her Group 2 winning dam, Wednesday’s QTIS two-year-old maiden-winning son of Vinery Stud’s Star Turn looks full of promise for trainer Robert Heathcote.
Talented sprinter Silent Is Gold collected his first victory on New Zealand soil at Wanganui on Sunday with a powerful display in the Fraser Auret Racing Open Handicap (1350m).
With nine winners from 12 starters in Hong Kong, it’s not surprising Star Turn is a target sire for Hong Kong buyers with a cracking colt by the Vinery Stud based sire selling for $350,000 at Inglis Classic on Sunday to the trainer of Group I HK International Mile winner Voyage Bubble.
Tough mare Prairie Flower became the 10th stakes winner for Vinery Stud’s Star Turn when winning the Listed Durbridge Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday with the half-sister set to sell at Inglis Premier.
Stephen Gray experienced plenty of highs with Silent Is Gold when training in Singapore, and he is excited to begin a new chapter with the gelding when he makes his New Zealand debut in the JR & N Berkett 1100 at Trentham on Saturday.
There were three new Australasian bred winners at Sha Tin on Sunday, a French bred Zoustar bagging his first in HK and a promising one for Star Turn taking his record to two wins from three starts.
There were seventeen stakes races Australia-wide on Saturday, and you would be hard-pressed to find a better ride than Willie Pike's on the favourite Starry Heights in the Listed XXXX Kalgoorlie Cup (23000m).
A top class mare in Western Australia that worked through her grades and was second in the Group I WATC Railway Stakes last November, Alsephina showed her class at Moonee Valley on Friday night to win the Group II MVRC Stocks Stakes (1600m).
Stakes racing at the Goldfields on Sunday, where the Starn Turn gelding Starry Heights made his stakes debut count in the Listed Blue Spec Drilling Boulder Cup (2116m).
Vinery Stud will be holding their annual breakfast stallion parades on the weekend of August 24 and 25 with seven stallions to parade each day from 9am.