The choice of a young stallion for an older mare was a key part of the thinking behind sending Starspangled (Ire) to Ghaiyyath (Ire) last season and now her colt foal is living a dream life with owners Jack and Karen Sheather.
Starspangled is the only remaining broodmare by the great Danehill (USA) still active as a broodmare in Australia.
Cantankerous old mare produces kind foal
Sheather’s love for Starspangled shines through when talking to him, and even her faults are spoken with a soft joy. “She’s a different mare when she’s in foal. She can be a handful when she’s not. I think it comes down from Slip Anchor, she can be cantankerous and have a mind of her own at times,” Sheather said. Starspangled is out of European Horse Of The Year and five-time Group 1 winner User Friendly (GB) (Slip Anchor {GB}).
Gallery: Ghaiyyath (Ire) x Starspangled (Ire) colt, images courtesy of Jack Sheather
“This colt is the best natured foal we’ve had out of her so far. He’ll be down there waiting for me, you can’t do anything without him putting his head under your arm and wanting to know what’s going on.
“We are excited about him. He probably won’t make a sprinting type, but if he can be a racehorse, I’ll have him no matter what distance he runs over.
“He’s not an overly big colt. Very neat and has a real aura and presence about himself. He’s quiet and good to handle but he’s quite look at me and bullish about himself. Most of (Starspangled’s foals) have had that Danehill star on the forehead, but he hasn’t got any white except a little bit on a coronet band.
“He has a beautiful head, is well balanced, and moves effortlessly. Hopefully we can get him there and he can do well for us.”
It’s all about Galileo and Danehill blending
Starspangled’s first foal Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}) was a minor winner at a mile but it’s as a broodmare that she’s really excelled, producing four stakes winners. Twice New Zealand’s Champion Broodmare Of The Year, she is the dam of four-time Group 1 winner Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), Group 1 winner No Compromise (NZ) (Pins), and Listed winners Bradman (NZ) (Pins) and Benaud (Reliable Man {GB}).
“If you can get the nicks right, we seem to go a lot better,” Sheather said. Ghaiyyath is by Dubawi (Ire) out of a Galileo (Ire) mare. Ghaiyyath's oldest crop in Australia are 3-year-olds and are headlined by G1 Victoria Derby winner Observer, as well as Listed winners Yum, Freedom Flame, and Different Gravy.
Baggy Green | Image courtesy of Gavelhouse
“When I bought her, the first foal she had was by High Chaparral. He was by Sadler’s Wells, as most of us are aware of, and Sadler’s Wells was the sire of Galileo. That’s where we’ve had our best success, and that’s why I went to Ghaiyyath with her. Ghaiyyath is out of a Galileo mare.
“When you get that (Galileo) coming in from the bottom part of the page, it can be successful. And he was a bigger type of stallion, and a relatively new kid on the block at the time and I think that’s important with old mares too.
“When you are a small time breeder, I was initially reluctant because he wouldn’t go early, but with an old mare, matching stallions is tricky and many of the young stallions were booked out. We did all the analysis and weighed things up if we wanted to keep one. If he’s the last one, we would keep him so it didn’t worry us if he’s a middle distance horse.
“We had a shot at the stumps and we got a colt. I would’ve loved a filly but I’ll never knock anything back out of Starspangled.”
A sensational broodmare
Jack and Karen Sheather purchased Starspangled for $30,000 at the 2014 Inglis Sydney Broodmare Sale when she had four foals on the ground, one of whom was Baggy Green. She was officially sold by Coolmore Stud, who had imported her to Australia, and bought by Bowness Stud.
“I’ve never won a Derby. I’ve won an Oaks and a Flight, just with Starspangled alone. The way this fellow is bred, you wouldn’t be surprised.”
Her first foal for the Sheathers was a High Chaparral (Ire) filly who was sold by Bowness Stud at the 2016 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $200,000 to Anton Koolman Bloodstock. Named Youngstar, she won four in succession as a 3-year-old including the G1 Queensland Oaks. She was purchased by Japan’s Katsumi Yoshida for $1.4 million at the 2020 Inglis Chairman’s Sale. Her first foal in Japan, 3-year-old colt Eri King (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) is a Group 2 winner and placed in the G1 Kikuka Sho.
Starspangled (Ire) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Two foals later, Starspangled produced Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}) again bringing in the Galileo factor via his son Adelaide who won a G1 Cox Plate. Funstar won the G1 Flight Stakes and two Group 2 races, as well as placing in the G1 Epsom Handicap, G1 Queen Of The Turf, and G1 Surround Stakes. She was bought as a yearling via Bowness Stud by Anton Koolman Bloodstock, who had Youngstar, for a bargain $80,000. After her racing career she was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $2.7 million at the 2021 Inglis July Digital Sale becoming, at the time, the highest priced horse to sell at a digital sale.
“I took her to Native Trail (this year), so we’ll see if she’s in foal on the 14th (of December). It’s late because she wasn’t quite right and I didn’t want to knock her about, and she was in at the vets and being monitored. Once she was looking right, we thought we’ll just try again.”
Not a time waster, but time consuming
Sheather, like many breeders, is all about the love of the horse. “I can lean against a fence post and watch them for hours. Just the way they move and frolic, and how they lead off on whatever leg, it’s not a time waster, it’s time consuming.
“I enjoy it, so it’s not time wasted.”
As for what else is next for Starspangled? “We’ve got one who has a little bit of a story. Starphistocated. John Thompson has her at Randwick. She’s just starting to put it together now, she’ll trial in about a fortnight.”
Starphistocated is by another son of Galileo in Churchill (Ire), and the 4-year-old mare has won three times. “Her last win at Rosehill was very encouraging. It took a while for the penny to drop. She couldn’t run at two as she had juvenile tendonitis. Anthony Cummings had her at the time, he was very good and the stable was very patient with her. Then we sent her to John, and I’ve always admired him as a trainer and he’s doing a good job with her.
Starphistocated | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“We’ve also got a Yes Yes Yes filly from her that’s a 3-year-old with Chris Waller. He thinks she’s typical of the sire and will make a 3-year-old. She’ll come back in around Christmas.” Unraced 3-year-old filly Rising Queen (Yes Yes Yes) is a move away from the Galileo sire line, with her sire being by Rubick, a son of Encosta De Lago. But it’s a sireline that has also worked with Starspangled, whose third foal Eleven Seconds (Encosta De Lago) won six races and placed in the Listed Bunbury Cup.
Starspangled is the end of an era for Danehill in Australia, as his last living broodmare here. As a representative of his quality, she’s done a fine job at stud and has begun her own dynasty with two Group 1-winning daughters at stud in Japan, and a Champion Broodmare at stud in New Zealand.
