STAR OF THE SEAS SAILS THROUGH BLAMEY STAKES TEST

By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 27, 2021

The Group 2 Darley Blamey Stakes proved to be the gateway to the All-Star Mile for the Chris Waller trained Star Of the Seas with the winner now gaining entry into the big race.

As such, it was a very important victory for the well performed, six-year-old chestnut who gathered in the long-time frontrunner Buffalo River midway down the home straight and then did enough under hard riding from Damian Lane to see off the very determined challenge of Fifty Stars, who had won the race for the last two years.

‘He came down and travelled in fantastic order,” said Jo Taylor, spokesperson for the Chris Waller stable. “Chris was actually down yesterday for the first time in a long time and he was quite bullish about Star Of The Seas’ chances. He thought it could run a really good race and he warranted Chris’s confidence.

“He is just as honest as the day is long. He doesn’t really know how to run a bad race.

“We’ve managed to get a ticket into the All-Star mile, so that was a big tick today. Now, we’re in it!

“We’ll take him to The Valley to have a look around there and ger accustomed to the circuit as we know it can be tricky sometimes.”

It was another peach of a ride from Damian Lane … positioning his horse perfectly, being patient and then being vigorous all translated into a very good winning ride.

“He travelled really well and I really wasn’t worried about the leader. Because of how hard he went, I just knew he was going to be a statue late” said Lane.

“I was more worried about who I was dragging off my back … like Fifty Stars … but we got there at the right time and we were strong enough to hold off the challenger.

“The last couple of years he has run some big races in Group 1’s, so the form around him is really strong and it stood him in good stead today.”