Starlight beginning to shine brightly

At trainer Michael Clements’ yard, he is not the brightest of the bright.

But, in fairness, he has not had a big enough stage to strut his stuff.

And, Clements’ barn already boasts an array of champions.

But Starlight is getting there.

Already a winner of four races, he has also been runner-up four times.

But the stark reality is, Starlight has been winless for eight months.

However, and to his credit, he seems to be running into form again.

Starlight was at the trials at Kranji yesterday morning and, although he finished third in that final hit-out on a drizzly day, his run was full of merit.

Ridden by Ronnie Stewart, he was not flogged to hell and back.

Indeed, Stewart kept him on a snug hold throughout the Polytrack 1,000m trip.

The jockey’s only “action” was over the final 150m – and that too – was only to keep Starlight interested.

Well, Starlight seemed pleased with the “arrangement”.

He was never going to eat into the advantage which Street Cry Success and Sure Will Do had established from the get-go.

But, to his credit, Starlight went to the line with a gallon of gas still in the tank.

An expensive import, he went under the hammer for $200,000 as a two-year-old in Australia and arrived here unraced.

He quickly served notice of his intentions, winning his two trials before Clements sent him to the races.

By then a three-year-old, he won on debut. That was in December, 2020.

He made it two from two but fell short in his hat-trick bid, losing out to the rising galloper Kharisma at his third start.

The following year, he pulled off a mini-coup when he won the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic over 1,400m. 

He beat hot favourite and stablemate Tiger Roar by a head.

He would win one more race last October before his form tapered off.

Well, Starlight is beginning to shine again.

He is still not blindingly bright, but Clements certainly has him on track for another win – maybe two – in the second half of the season.

As for the Steven Burridge-trained Street Cry Success, he is already seven, but hardly done yet.

Indeed, he must think that he is still a juvenile.

From what we saw, his win at the trials could be a stepping stone to better things.

Up in the saddle, Simon Kok, who has graduated to a jockey, must have known that he had a “ton” of horse beneath him.

He was not the least perturbed when Gold Cut (Manoel Nunes) and Sure Will Do (Marc Lerner) burnt up the track in front.

He was, indeed, happy to stay third, happy in the knowledge that the front pair would come back to him. That they did. 

Gold Cut, who opted to take the scenic route home, waved the white flag at the 300m mark.

Sure Will Do had little to offer when eyeballed by Street Cry Success a furlong out.

In the end, and aside from Starlight, who came from last to finish third, it was Street Cry Success who finished ahead of them all.

Prepared by Steven Burridge for the Fairdeal & Ronald Lau Stable, the old fella still has plenty of racing in his legs.

Watch him at his next couple of races, especially if you see him tumble back down into Class 4.

That is his comfort zone and that is where he can win more races.