Starspangledbanner

Poor horse hasn't run a lick in GR1 company since he was brought back to racing. Let the poor boy retire and be a horse.

Looked much, much better today in his second race back. Beaten only a 1/2 length by Maarek in the G3 Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh in Ireland. SSB made a strong move in the stretch to pass 2 pretty good sprinters in Fire Lily and Firebeam and briefly took the lead. But was run down in the final 50 meters by Maarek. Even still, he looked a lot better than when he finished dead last of 6 in the G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes back Aug. 12th.

After a failed attempt at stud duty, Starspangledbanner made his return to the racetrack on Sunday at the Curragh in Ireland in the G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes. He obviously needed this run after being off of the track for such a long time, because he ended up finishing dead last of 6 runners in the race.

Starspangledbanner has been installed as favorite for Sunday’s Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh. From racehorse to stud to racehorse again. Let's hope he returns with his brillant speed....

Coolmore announced on Tuesday that Starspangledbanner will not shuttle to the southern hemisphere breeding season due to fertility issues, and may be put back into training!! I always thought Coolmore/Ballydoyle retired Starspangledbanner awfully quickly anyway? He was a fairly lightly raced horse in Australia, and after Michael Tabor bought him and brought him to Ireland, he was very lightly raced in Europe. But really never ran a bad race for Ballydoyle. He won the G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes and G1 July Cup. Was 2nd in the G1 Nunthrope Stakes, and 5th in both the G1 Sprint Cup and G2 Duke of York Stakes. With those 2 5th place finishes being his worst finishes in Europe. This horse had a ton of speed, and it be great to see him brought back to top level sprint races again.

May be put back into training after firing a few blanks so to speak....

This is 1 horse I really wish Aidan O'Brien had let race on for another season or two. When he was racing at the very top of his game, Starspangledbanner was one seriously fast horse. His win in the G1 Caufield Guineas, which was actually over a mile and not sprint distances, was visually awesome to see. But when he won the 2010 G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes over 6f at Ascot, he may have reached his zenith in that race? SSB ran each of the 6f of that race each faster than the previous furlong, and his final furlong of that race was officially clocked at having been run in 9-1/2 seconds. That's flat out cooking with Crisco, and IMO, would stand against the best sprinters in the world today if he repeated it? I.E. Black Caviar, Sepoy, etc.....

Until just recently, I thought that Hong Kong's Sacred Kingdom was the very best 6 furlong sprinter in the world. I'd still say that Sacred Kingdom is right there at the top of the list. But he's certainly got some company at the top now. Starspangledbanner is absolutely lightning in a bottle. Johnny Murtagh has the luxury in a colt like this of having a "blast off" button on the saddle. Starspangledbanner is a colt that has been officially clocked as having ran a 9 second furlong in training. That's cooking with Crisco folks. Trainer Aidan O'Brien was quoted as saying, talking about Starspangledbanner's 9 second furlong, that this is the only horse he's ever trained in his career that has accomplished that feat. After watching Starspangledbanner win the Caufield Guineas, Oakleigh Plate, the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Ascot, and today's Darley July Cup, I have no doubt this colt could compete with Sacred Kingdom at sprint distances. The American sprinter, Kinsale King, ran well early in the race. Staying near the lead for some time. But with such a blistering pace on, Kinsale King eventually faded to 12th. A great win by a great colt in today's July Cup. Starspangledbanner has got what looks to be quite a bright future in the sprint division of racing. JMO.