US Stakes-Winner for Starspangledbanner

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 1/16^th 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.