Star Thoroughbreds Newcomers and Returning Champions

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Star Thoroughbreds Newcomers and Returning Champions

The new year has arrived and what better way to welcome it than by indulging in spring racing? We headed to Star Thoroughbreds to check out their new two year olds and also to find out which of their current stars will be returning for another season.

Italian Beauty

The first horse we are taken to view is the very classy Italian Beauty. She's a gorgeous grey filly with legs for days, and her rider Stella Mackenzie looks on proudly as she is lead out of her stall and out into the courtyard. Beauty seems to dance as she is trotted out for our viewing pleasure.

We follow her down to the training oval and watch as she becomes increasingly excitable and therefore more challenging to handle. Stella is legged up, and off they trot down the dirt. Sarah Star fills us in on her breeding, and we're not surprised to know that this thoroughbred is directly related to at least two Hall of Fame inductees.

She's sired by Bank On Greatness, a grade one champion in his own right for three Breeder's Cup wins, although he's often referred to as Impressario's brother. Those who know anything about racing will need no introduction to Italian Beauty's grandsire and granddam Merry Bay King and Bank on Silver.

Her dam's bloodlines are lesser known, but of high quality. She's out of Cute Italian, a grade one mare who won the Preakness Stakes. Beauty's grandsire on her dam's side is True Italian, sire of The True Nut, a HOF inductee. Beauty's siblings include Italian Ice, Canadian Triple Crown champion, and Great Revenge, who recently completed his two year old season as a grade three racer.

We all watch intently as Stella gives Beauty the go ahead, and the filly roars into action. She makes it look effortless, as though it's a sunday stroll in the park, but at the same time it's clear the filly isn't messing around. She thunders past with rhythmic strides and we can see her muscles rippling under a shining coat. Beauty slows down reluctantly, and then returns to us still carrying her grinning rider. She's barely even broken a sweat. There are big smiles all around, and Stella comments on how completely and utterly ready the filly was for her first race, the Legacy Dirt Stakes. With the legacy this filly is carrying, we can't help but have high hopes for her debut!

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King Of Skies

King of Skies is next to be shown to us. He stands tall, holding himself with obvious pride. Kingy, as he is affectionately called, is a stunning dappled grey. His rider is legged up and off they trot. While the young thoroughbred steps away from us swiftly, we are informed of his breeding.

Kingy is sired by Here's The King, a Star Festival and Breeder's Cup winner. Here's The King was sired by HOF Royal Red Richard, who was not a sprinter himself but was the winner of the Universal Cup and Breeder's Cup Classic, and the sire of some top sprinters including HOF Pegasus Wings.

His dam is Seraphim, a grade one mare who won the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Sprint, as well as the Star Festival and Breeder's Cup Sprint. Requiem is her dam, a grade four racer who produced HOF sprinter Deadly Desires. Seraphim was sired by HOF Flying Colours, also a Star Festival and Breeder's Cup Sprint winner.

King Of Skies runs so easily he looks like he's gliding along the backstretch. Those long legs of his cover the ground easily. We can see his pace quicken as he completes the turn into the homestretch, and that's when his rider urges him on. It's easy to see that this horse is something special. No one speaks as he sprints down to the finish, all mesmerized by the sight of him. Until he begins to slow down, everyone stays silent. Then James looks at us and holds up a stopwatch, grinning ear to ear. It had been the colt's fastest breeze time yet.

While we wait for Kingy to return from his workout, and the next horse to come down to the training track, James tells us a bit about Star Thoroughbreds' racing plans for the colt. He would first be running next weekend, in GHF's Jumping Beans Maiden Sprint on the turf. All being well, he would then go on to run in the Unicorn Horn Series, the Magic Millions, and the Follow The Hoofprints series, to name a few. We wish this gorgeous colt luck and can't wait to see him run his first race!

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Limerence

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Glorious Sunrise

Having already seen three amazing two year olds, we expected more of the same and we were not disappointed. Marissa Star's first ride for us was the filly full of attitude - Glorious Sunrise. She's a stunning dark bay, and at 16.2hh she towers over most of us. Marissa is legged up and turns the filly through some warm up exercises before heading up the dirt at a canter.

We're told she was a foal planned for years before she was actually conceived, but it was a match all too good to give up on. Sunrise's sire Bank On Glory won the Kentucky Derby and the Breeder's Cup, and he is in turn sired by Armidale, a foreign grade one stallion with a long list of achievements. Bank On Glory was foaled by Bank On Silver, GHF's first Hall of Fame inductee.

Dusk Runner, Sunrise's dam, was a decent racehorse at grade three stakes level, but her most notable achievement is foaling grade one Sunset Crusade, a Kentucky Derby and Breeder's Cup Classic winner, and After Dusk, grade one Breeder's Cup F&M Sprint winner.

Glorious Sunrise is the only horse we've viewed so far with a workout partner. James mentions this is because without one, she isn't motivated to put in the effort. The other horse picks up the pace before her, beating her to the turn. But Sunrise rallies admirably, especially as we're told her workout partner is a horse three times her age. As they end the turn, it's then we see what power the filly holds - she almost easily puts away the distance between them and finishes the workout a tiny margin ahead of the other horse. She's due to run her first race in the Dirty Duck Stakes, so with more competition in a real race we'll see what she can really do!

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Galaxy Ruler

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Like A Lioness

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