STARTANTES UP AGAINST IT BUT NOT WITHOUT A HOPE

By Graham Potter | Friday, February 11, 2022

Only one Queensland trainer has ventured south to take on the big boys at Randwick on Saturday and Robert Heathcote is under illusions about the task facing his quality three-year-old filly Startantes in the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes.

“The question is … did I get pissed off when I heard the barrier.” (Startantes drew barrier fifteen). “I’m passed that sort of thing now. The are other things I’d rather get pissed off about,” said Heathcote with his usual straightforward, no-nonsense approach, “but that’s a story for another day.”

Startantes will be second up on Saturday after finishing a eye-catching third behind Niedorp when resuming at the Sunshine Coast on January 29.

“That was a good run,” said Heathcote. “It wasn’t the ideal ride. I asked the jockey not to hunt her out, not to stay on the fence and also to be the last one to move … so what happened, she was hunted out, stayed on the fence and hit the front at the top of the straight.

“Circumstances in the running do dictate things to some extent, but I’d say the jockey erred in her first-up run from barrier one.

“Having said that, I was delighted with Startantes’s effort. She pulled up great. She looks great.

“So, what happens next? We get barrier fifteen.

“Look, she probably can’t win against the likes of Espiona (unbeaten in two starts) and Fangirl (who is going for four in a row). Espiona could be the best three-year-old filly in Australia … and I suppose we’ll find out more about that in her next two runs.

“Whatever happens on Saturday, Startantes will head to the Surround Stakes next over 1400m in two week’s time … and then it will be back to Brisbane where we will have a crack at some of the nice three-year-old races leading into our carnival and then hopefully a Stradbroke.

“I know when you mention a horse’s name and the Stradbroke in the same sentence it is pretty lofty aspirations, but Startantes is already Group 1 placed so we live in hope.”

While Startantes’s draw in the Light Fingers has clearly complicated her task, that last point made by Heathcote concerning her Group 1 placing is well worth noting.

That result came in the Group 1 Flight Stakes over 1600m in a race won by Never Been Kissed who then came out and franked that form with a runner-up finish behind Profondo in the Group 1 Champion Stakes.

And while Heathcote’s view of the enormity of the task facing Startantes is based in reality, Startantes does have a very proud record of her own.

She has won five of her twelve starts and been placed on a further three occasions.

Four of her five wins have come over the 1200m trip (Saturday’s race distance) and she also has yet to be beaten second-up (which she is on Saturday).

A tough task … yes. At odds of around $20 … that sounds about right … but the fact remains that Startantes will take her place in this highly competitive feature race on merit and the old axiom of ‘if you’ve got a ticket, you’ve got a chance’ will apply.

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