With his bigger foal crops now coming to fruition from
2019 onwards there is plenty of blue sky ahead for Starspangledbanner with a
new stakes-winner in North America on Saturday in Great Wide Open adding to his formidable
statistics to date.
Second in the Grade I Keeneland Turf Mile earlier this year, the Conor Murphy
trained six year-old gelding scored a bold front running victory in the $74,250 Buddy Diliberto
Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds over 1 and 1/16th mile on turf.
It was his first Black Type win taking his overall record to seven wins and 10
placings from 38 starts with prizemoney topping $460,000.
Great Wide Open is the best of two winners from Market Hill, a grand-daughter
of stakes-winner Knighton House, whose descendants include Group I winners
Hellenic, Islington and even Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente.
Great Wide Open is the tenth stakes-winner for Starspangledbanner from just 96
runners giving him the enviable strike rate of 10.4% stakes-winners to runners.
Starspangledbanner will have a strong numbers to race for him in the Northern
Hemisphere in 2019 and his current crop of Australian two year-olds includes
boom filly Brooklyn Hustle, an early favourite for the Group I MRC Blue Diamond
Stakes.
Don't miss his yearlings at Australian
sales in early 2019.
US Stakes-Winner for Starspangledbanner
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