Funstar Epsom-bound but is it the Golden Eagle or a Cox Plate after that?
Olly Koolman, the part-owner of Group 1-winning mare Funstar (Adelaide), has warned that the Chris Waller-trained four-year-old is not at her peak for her seasonal return in the Show County Quality (Gr 3, 1200m) while her spring swansong remains up in the air.
The Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner, who took out the Phar Lap Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m) and was runner-up in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) in the autumn, is set for a four-start campaign beginning with today’s “undercard” event at Randwick.
Given a soft barrier trial at Rosehill on August 4 over 1000 metres with Jason Collett in the saddle, Funstar was scratched from the Winx Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) to instead resume over 1200 metres in the Group 3 race with James McDonald booked for the ride.
“She wasn’t asked to do too much under trial conditions and on these (heavy) surfaces that horses are having to trial on and even gallop on aren’t ideal, but as far as preparing a horse for game day, she’s ticked the boxes and we’re here now and ready to go to the races,” Koolman said yesterday.
“But by no stretch of the imagination has Chris got her ready to be peaking over 1200 metres in an undercard event at Randwick, giving the race all due respect, as she’s got bigger fish to fry.
“The way Chris has reported that she’s going to improve with the run and the distance probably isn’t to her liking, but my own opinion and observation of the horse is that she’s a sprinter-miler and if she’s a sprinter-miler, then she should at least be extremely competitive in that event.”
The consistent Funstar, a winner of five of her nine starts, has only been unplaced just once and that came when fourth in the Vinery Stud Stakes (registered as Storm Queen Stakes) (Gr 1, 2000m) at Rosehill in March.
The mare, a half-sister to Group 1 winner Youngstar (High Chaparral) who was also raced by similar connections which includes Koolman, his father Anton and Arthur Inglis, is being aimed at the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) but after that is where opinions could differ.
The $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) or the prestige of the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) loom as the two options, with Waller yesterday suggesting the Moonee Valley weight-for-age race was his preference.
“Last prep she was obviously restricted to racing against her own age for the best part, so we had a very set program. And not wanting to take on older horses, we were limited to the three-year-old fillies races, but she was probably out of her comfort zone in the Vinery and then Coolmore Legacy was a bit of an afterthought,” Koolman said.
“After the Vinery we weren’t sure if we were going to the Oaks or back to the Legacy. We came back to the Legacy for all the right reasons, but this preparation the goal is the Epsom and one run after.”
An experienced industry professional, Koolman added: “No one is going to second guess (the trainer) and the owners certainly won’t second guess Chris, but travelling to Melbourne isn’t on my bucket list at the moment and the Golden Eagle, there’s only one of them and she’s only going to be four once.
“We’ll see how she goes, but if it’s a toss of the coin decision whether she goes to the Cox Plate or the Golden Eagle, I’d be going for the Golden Eagle and he can have the Cox Plate next year. That way we both win.”
The syndicate sold the Waller-trained Youngstar to Japan’s Katsumi Yoshida for $1.4 million at the virtual Inglis Chairman’s Sale in May but Koolman is hopeful more horses will emerge wearing their light and dark blue colours with a red cap in the next season or two after a productive 2020 yearling sales series.
“The answer is I wouldn’t have a clue (if they have ability), but I didn’t know about Funstar or Youngstar at the same stage either,” he said.
“We’ve just got to wait until they get to the races. Usually we’ve only two or three, but this year we’ve got five two-year-olds, so we’re really excited about them as everyone else is about their unraced horses.
“We’ll live the honeymoon period as it should be lived and if luck falls in our favour, then we’ll just manage it the best way we possibly can.”