Lil Grey Continues Celebrated Return Of Starspangledbanner

Lil Grey (2f Starspangledbanner - Vera Lilley, by Verglas) followed up on a very promising debut to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race at the Curragh on Friday evening.

The Sheila Lavery-trained grey finished second to Mohican Heights (Australia) over seven furlongs at Leopardstown in May and dropped back to six furlongs for her second racecourse appearance. Ridden to chase the leaders by stable jockey Robbie Colgan, she was going well after halfway and asserted with ease over a furlong from home. Driven clear, she ran on well to score by two and three quarter lengths, leaving runners-up honours to Year Of The Tiger (Galileo), the first foal out of top sprinter Tiggy Wiggy.

Lavery, who trains the winner for the Spyglass Syndicate, commented after the race, “Lil Grey has only worked once. I just decided to put her in this race and see, and if she won we would give her an entry in the Albany Stakes.”

Bred by Newtown Stud, Lil Grey continues a fantastic run by the progeny of Starspangledbanner, with this year’s two-year-olds marking the return of the stallion from Australia. Lil Grey is closely related to winner Miss Rosina (Choisir), with Choisir a proven cross in the pedigree, given that their dam is a half-sister to Listed winner Three Sea Captains (Choisir).

Starspangledbanner commands a fee of €17,500 at Castlehyde Stud this season.