Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Written by Jessica Owers
Affable hobby breeder Jack Sheather will drive from Young, in southern NSW, to Sydney this weekend for the G1 George Ryder S. at Rosehill. He's got Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}) in the race, a filly he bred in 2016 from Starspangled (Ire) (Danehill {USA}), and she’s a market favourite.
“The writing’s on the wall for a big one from her,” Sheather said, and he's excited.
Funstar has won over $1.2 million in prizemoney across a 15-start career. Her five wins for trainer Chris Waller have included three at stakes level, namely the G1 Flight S. in 2019. She is also five-times placed, with seconds in the G1 Epsom H., G1 Surround S. and G1 Queen of the Turf.
This side of Christmas, she has been fourth in two races behind no less than Colette (Hallowed Crown) in the G2 Apollo S. and Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) in the G1 Chipping Norton S.
Saturday’s George Ryder field is a strong one, and the 4-year-old mare will tackle Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), seasoned Avilius (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and 8-year-old gelding Dreamforce (Fastnet Rock). With the scratching of Arcadia Queen (Pierro) on Thursday, Funstar is the only female in the field.
She has particularly strong wet-track form. Her victory in the G2 Phar Lap S. last year was across a Heavy 9, while victories in the G2 Tea Rose S. and G1 Flight S. both came over Soft footing.
Funstar after winning the G2 Tea Rose S. | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Starspangled fortune
The Funstar story has been told before, an $80,000 Inglis Australian Easter yearling sold by Bowness Stud, on behalf of Jack Sheather, to Anton Koolman Bloodstock in 2018. The Inglis family bought into the ownership. Funstar’s stakes-winning half-sister Youngstar (High Chapparal {Ire}) had been sold at the same sale in 2016, to the same buyer, for $200,000.
On both occasions, Sheather stayed in the ownership.
He counts his lucky stars that the first broodmare he bought was Irish-bred Starspangled, who was a 1700 metre winner in Ireland before her importation to Australia in February 2008. And Sheather credits her purchase from Coolmore in 2014 to Bowness studmaster John North.
“John had done a lot of business with Coolmore over the years, and we’d been talking at the time about getting a mare,” Sheather said. “When John took her, I thought to myself that I’d love to be in on her, because I would have liked to get hold of a Danehill mare, and I couldn’t have shaken his hand quick enough.”
“When John (North) took her (Starspangled), I thought to myself that 'I’d love to be in on her', because I would have liked to get hold of a Danehill mare, and I couldn’t have shaken his hand quick enough.” - Jack Sheather
Sheather landed Starspangled for $30,000 at the Inglis Sydney Weanling and Broodmare Sale. The former brick-layer said the wildly successful results he’s had from her aren’t a shock to him.
“Believe it or not, with her page and pedigree, it didn’t surprise me,” he said. “She was in-foal to High Chapparal when I got her, and that was a cracking-looking foal (Youngstar). This mare throws lovely foals, and I must admit that I had this gut feeling about her, but you do find yourself asking at the time, could it happen to us?”
Funstar as a yearling
There will be blood
Starspangled has produced six foals for Jack Sheather, with the most recent yearling by Pierro heading through the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. He was passed in initially, but later sold to the Freedman Brothers for $500,000.
“If it wasn’t for John, I never would have ended up with Starspangled,” Sheather said, “and John didn’t have any yearlings headed to Easter this year. So I decided to stay loyal to him, and I sent this colt to Magic Millions.”
Sheather said the yearling has started his education for the Freedmans.
“I’ll find out a lot more about him at the races this weekend,” he said.
Pierro x Starspangled (Ire) (colt)
Last Spring, Starspangled dropped a full brother to Funstar by Coolmore shuttler Adelaide (Ire), but Sheather said it’s too early in the game to make any plans for the colt. The mating, however, was strategic.
“High Chapparal was by Sadler’s Wells,” Sheather said, “and he was the sire of Youngstar. And then we put Funstar over Adelaide because Adelaide’s sire was Galileo, who was by Sadler’s Wells.”
Continuing the association, Starspangled is currently in-foal to Churchill (Ire), a stallion chosen by Sheather because of the Galileo (Ire) influence.
