I Am A Star
Bruno Cannatelli
The feature race options keep coming for New Zealand-bred filly I Am A Star with trainer Shane Nichols weighing up which Group 1 races in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to attack this autumn.
I Am A Star lived right up to her name when she beat the mares in the Group 1 Myer Classic at Flemington last spring and Nichols said last week's announcement that the Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide would be worth $1million this year, added yet another race to her potential autumn agenda.
"There are any number of races she could aim up at this autumn but she'll more than likely start off in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield on February 11 after she has a trial," Nichols said.
"With a rating of 105, she really has to begin her campaign in open class but then she can then go to those fillies' races like the Armanasco and we might end up in the Australian Guineas before we get to Sydney for races like the Coolmore (Classic) and Queen Of The Turf.
"Then, I think we've got a month from the Queen Of The Turf to the Sangster in Adelaide so there's plenty to think about."
As for I Am A Star, who showed earlier in the spring that she had Group 1 potential with a win in the Quezette Stakes and a second placing in the Group One Thousand Guineas, Nichols said that she has changed remarkably in appearance since her Myer Classic victory.
"Compared to what she looked like at the start of the spring, she looks a million times better now," he said.
"Her coat's better, she's carrying a lot more muscle and a lot more bulk now. She still had a bit of a winter coat throughout the spring and she wasn't overly heavy.
"I'm not sure whether she's improved or not - we haven't got to the stage yet - but it is a possibility," Nichols said.
Jockey Dean Yendall said I Am A Star was so relaxed she could run out the 2400 metres of a Caulfield Cup but Nichols said she would be kept to sprinting this autumn before a step-up to 2000 metres is considered next spring. -racing.com
I Am A Star lived right up to her name when she beat the mares in the Group 1 Myer Classic at Flemington last spring and Nichols said last week's announcement that the Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide would be worth $1million this year, added yet another race to her potential autumn agenda.
"There are any number of races she could aim up at this autumn but she'll more than likely start off in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield on February 11 after she has a trial," Nichols said.
"With a rating of 105, she really has to begin her campaign in open class but then she can then go to those fillies' races like the Armanasco and we might end up in the Australian Guineas before we get to Sydney for races like the Coolmore (Classic) and Queen Of The Turf.
"Then, I think we've got a month from the Queen Of The Turf to the Sangster in Adelaide so there's plenty to think about."
As for I Am A Star, who showed earlier in the spring that she had Group 1 potential with a win in the Quezette Stakes and a second placing in the Group One Thousand Guineas, Nichols said that she has changed remarkably in appearance since her Myer Classic victory.
"Compared to what she looked like at the start of the spring, she looks a million times better now," he said.
"Her coat's better, she's carrying a lot more muscle and a lot more bulk now. She still had a bit of a winter coat throughout the spring and she wasn't overly heavy.
"I'm not sure whether she's improved or not - we haven't got to the stage yet - but it is a possibility," Nichols said.
Jockey Dean Yendall said I Am A Star was so relaxed she could run out the 2400 metres of a Caulfield Cup but Nichols said she would be kept to sprinting this autumn before a step-up to 2000 metres is considered next spring. -racing.com