Written by Bren O'Brien
Twelve months after causing a huge upset and cashing a $1 million cheque in the R. Listed Inglis Millennium, Prime Star (Starspangledbanner) will be back at the rich Inglis raceday targeting another boilover in the $1 million Inglis Sprint for 3-year-olds at Randwick on Saturday.
Prime Star emerged out of a second in a Newcastle maiden to win the Millennium for Richard and Michael Freedman, relishing the step to a heavy track and delivering a substantial bonus on the $55,000 he cost China Horse Club at the 2019 Inglis Classic Sale.
Surgery for bone chips ruled him out of the rest of his 2-year-old campaign, but he proved he was no flash in the pan in the spring, by running some very good races, including a second in both the G2 Stan Fox S. and the $1 million Bondi S., on both occasions behind the very talented Peltzer (So You Think {NZ}).
The Freedmans had targeted the rich Inglis Sprint as an ideal return race for Prime Star some time ago, stepping him through a couple of quiet recent trials.
"He seems to have come back well. His trials have been nice enough. He hasn't been overly extended in either of them, but he seems to be in decent form," Michael Freedman told TDN AusNZ.
"We thought it was the most natural starting point for him, given he is eligible for it. It probably has ended up a touch stronger than we thought it might be. It certainly looks a much stronger race than it was last year."
"It probably has ended up a touch stronger than we thought it might be." - Michael Freedman
A 'touch stronger' is one way to describe the presence of dual Group 1-winning colt Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon), who was due to resume in the G2 Expressway S. last week but was scratched due to the heavy track.
The G1 Golden Rose S. and Caulfield Guineas winner looks the obvious yardstick, but the race also includes the multiple stakes-winning filly Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible).
The set weights conditions of the race mean that Prime Star must carry the same weight as Ole Kirk, despite trailing him by 23 points in the official ratings, while the Freedman-trained gelding concedes Dame Giselle 2kg on real terms, with the filly rated 11 points superior.
Prime Star at the beach earlier this year | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Freedman said that Prime Star is as well as can be expected and is showing no long-term effects of the bone chip operation he had after his win in the Millennium last year.
"He just needed a bit of arthroscopic surgery just to take a bit of a chip out and move on from there," he said.
"He then only had four weeks off after the spring. He's physically all there already and is the same sort of size and shape. He had a nice break."
Prime Star got out to 1600 metres last campaign, but Freedman feels he would be best targetted at races around 1400 metres this time in.
"His best is probably around that 1200 metre to 1500 metres. That's probably his best. A mile probably sees him right out. That's what his pedigree would suggest as well," he said.
On The Lead returns
Prime Star is not the only quality Freedman 3-year-old resuming on Saturday, with On The Lead (I Am Invincible) first-up in the G3 Eskimo Prince, again, against a hot field which includes Peltzer and North Pacific (Brazen Beau).
"He seems in good order. He had a nice trial at Randwick the other day and he seems to have come out of that well. We decided to give him a try with the blinkers on for the first time. He hasn't had them on before but he's a bit older and a bit bullier now, se we thought it was time to try it," Freedman said of the son of I Am Invincible.
On The Lead at the Randwick trials | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
On The Lead, a $400,000 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale purchase for Paul Moroney and his owners at Go Bloodstock in 2018, has won two races, both in restricted company at Kembla Grange, but was placed in both the G2 Roman Consul S. and the Listed Brian Crowley S. at the end of his last campaign.
Freedman hopes the colt can continue on his upward spiral into the autumn and figure in the mix of some of the better 3-year-old races.
"Obviously until you really get going into a campaign and see how they have come back, you never know. You hope that steady improvement that he showed last time in can continue," he said.
While On The Lead's eight-start career has been all in races at 1200 metres and shorter to date, Freedman did not rule out trying to stretch him out in distance a bit this time in.
"I think we will wait and see how he pans out. I wouldn't rule out him out of getting a little bit further. Certainly at some point, we might want to try him at 1400 metres," he said.
