Written by Jessica Owers
Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
It was Hawkesbury’s turn on Tuesday morning to host a number of trials, among them seven for the juveniles. Spread out across the card, they presented winners for seven individual stallions.
Among them was the 2-year-old colt Scream, a son of Zoustar in the colours of Newgate Farm and China Horse Club. The youngster bounced out of the gates and ripped home, towing the field for a 2.88l victory to the Brad Widdup-trained Vancouver’s Gem (Vancouver).
The posted time was 49.3s for the 800 metres, which was far from the quickest of the morning, but the style of the win was relatively effortless.
Watch: The Michael Freedman-trained Scream win his heat by 2.88l
Two-year-old Scream is trained at Randwick by Michael Freedman, and he was seeing the racetrack in silks for just the second time. His only previous trial was at Canterbury in December last year when he was third to Metallicity (Zoustar), a fellow Newgate-China Horse Club colt.
Scream is the first foal from the stakes-winning mare Hear The Chant (Nicconi), a winner of the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. She was also stakes placed, and this is the family of the Zabeel (NZ) mare Calm Smytzer (NZ), who was a triple Group-winner and four times Group placed.
Scream was consigned by Widden Stud to the 2021 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale where he was picked up by Newgate and China Horse Club for $350,000.
Scream as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
His Zoustar full brother was sold at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale this year, consigned by Widden and purchased for $150,000 by John Moloney.
Went like the clappers
The rest of the morning at Hawkesbury posted trial wins for Headwater, Exceed And Excel, Jukebox and Russian Revolution. There was also a juvenile winner for Power (GB), who stands resident at Oaklands Stud.
However, the most catchy of performances came from the Blake Ryan-trained filly Starspangledancer (Starspangledbanner), who made a mockery of her opponents with a 12.16l victory.
Watch: Starspangledancer for Blake Ryan demolish her heat by 12.16l
“It surprised me a little bit,” Ryan said, speaking to TDN AusNZ on Tuesday. “She’s always been a smart filly at home, but I said to James (Innes, jockey) that if she wanted to get rolling with him, don’t fight her because he’d end up in an arm wrestle with her and it wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone.
“So he let her roll and when she got to the corner I thought she’d be walking late, but she wasn’t. I wouldn’t say I was gob-smacked because she’s always been pretty smart, but I was surprised she could go out there and do that.”
“So he let her (Starspangledancer) roll and when she got to the corner I thought she’d be walking late, but she wasn’t. I wouldn’t say I was gob-smacked because she’s always been pretty smart, but I was surprised she could go out there and do that.” - Blake Ryan
Starspangledancer contested a field that included the well-performed Godolphin filly Victorine (Kermadec {NZ}), who was second in the Newcastle Beaumont H. in March.
Ryan’s filly was first out of the gates and, within a handful of strides, she was clear by 4l. After that, she bounded along like a rubber ball.
She went away so well that the track camera had trouble fitting her into the frame and, by the winning post, she was 12l clear with a withering gallop. She posted a winning time of 46.63s for the 800 metres, the last 600 metres in 32.63s, the fastest of the juvenile trials over the distance.
Staying home
Starspangledancer has shown her trainer plenty already, but Ryan didn’t expect her to put the pieces together on Tuesday morning as she did.
The filly had won a jump-out early in her first preparation, but she had gone poorly in a Rosehill trial thereafter, finishing last in early January. Her trainer promptly put her out.
“She’s been sharp at home, but I wasn’t expecting to see her do that (at Hawkesbury) off of one trial and a jump-out, and to keep running as she did and post the time that she did,” Ryan said.
Blake Ryan | Image courtesy of Blake Ryan Racing
The trainer said while he’s keeping his feet on the ground about Starspangledancer, the manner of her effort on Tuesday morning had probably shifted his decision on her likely first start.
“I was thinking about going over the mountains with her and maybe finding a race at Orange, or somewhere on a country track with a 1000-metre maiden,” Ryan said. “But as soon as she trialled like that, I thought about it again.
“She does all her fast work on the grass track at Hawkesbury and she knows her way around it like the back of her hand, so maybe we’ll think about that instead.”
“I was thinking about going over the mountains with her (Starspangledancer) and maybe finding a race at Orange... But as soon as she trialled like that, I thought about it again.” - Blake Ryan
Ryan said that it’s often the way with highly strung fillies that they do their best away from home, but he’s not finding that with Starspangledancer. As a result, he’ll consider a couple of maiden races over 1000 metres that are upcoming at Hawkesbury both next week and the week after.
“The one next week is probably a bit soon for her after going around like that today,” the trainer said. “So there’s one on Sunday fortnight, and she’ll head there at this stage.”
Rosemont weanling
Starspangledancer is a daughter of the Chateau Istana (GB) mare Karalli, who is a three-quarter sister to a Macau Listed winner. This is the family of the Listed Keith Mackay S. winner Actress (Snippets), and also of the G1 JJ Atkins S. winner Romantic Touch (Northern Meteor).
It’s a running family, but Starspangledancer didn’t catch much attention when she was offered on Inglis Digital as part of the Rosemont Exclusive Online Sale in 2020. As a weanling, she fetched just $5000 when purchased by her owner, Warwick Doughty.
Starspangledancer was subsequently consigned to the 2021 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, appearing in the draft of Cornerstone Stud. She had a $20,000 reserve and was passed in.
Starspangledancer as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“Mr Doughty rang me when I started training to see if I wanted a horse to train, and of course I did,” Ryan said. “We got her over from Adelaide and I thought she was a nice enough filly, and it wasn’t until she won that jump-out early on that I realised she had something in her.
“She did it in the same fashion as she did this morning (Tuesday), flying the machine and just taking off.”
Ryan isn’t expecting Starspangledancer to be the next Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt), but there’s no doubt this filly has got gears.
“You don’t really know until you go to the races with them, but I’m hoping she’s not a little speedy squib,” he said. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
