Starspangled Filly Wins $300,000 VOBIS Gold Sires

Promising filly Thrillster (2f Starspangledbanner x Heart of Thrills, by Show a Heart) kept up her recent good form with a dominant win in the $300,000 MRC VOBIS Gold Sires at Caulfield on Saturday.

Stakes-placed on debut and then a good winner of the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush Plate at Bendigo earlier this month, she stepped it up a notch for this assignment to win the 1200 metre dash by two lengths.

Trained by Leon and Troy Corstens, who also trained her sire Starspangledbanner, Thrillster has now won two of three starts and over $340,000 and looks a lovely filly in the making.

"She's going to be a cheap filly, after today and her win at Bendigo," Leon Corstens said.

"We always thought she had a bit of ability but we didn't know what to expect really.

"When I watched our other horse (Really Swish, runner-up to Thrillster at Bendigo) race in Adelaide I was really disappointed, he went a bit ordinary, so I thought the form might not stack up.

"But she has done really well at home and I think today she looked a lot racier that what we've seen before."

A $60,000 Inglis Premier purchase from the Rosemont Stud draft for Malua Bloodstock, Thrillster is the first winner for Heart of Thrills, a three-quarter sister-in-blood to Group III winner Gotta Have Heart and stakes-winner Crossyourheart.

Heart of Thrills was sold at the Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale last week for $200,000 and her weanling colt by Rubick made $60,000 at the same sale going to McKeever Bloodstock.

Thrillster is a bright prospect for Starspangledbanner, who battled fertility issues early in his stud career before enjoying a stint at Rosemont Stud in Victoria before ultimately returning to full commercial use at Coolmore in the Hunter Valley.

Starspangledbanner had over 50 foals born in Australia last year and covered a further 56 mares at Coolmore last spring.

With 10.8% stakes-winners to runners, there is no doubt Starspangledbanner is a top class sire and with these better numbers coming through may well make the impact he deserves.

He stands this spring at a fee of $11,000.