The first Group I winner for her trainer Shane Nichols, I am a Star was rock hard for this assignment coming into the race at her sixth run this preparation.
A first up winner of the Group III MRC Quezette Stakes over 1100 metres back in August, I Am a Star has been consistent since then and showed her class with a fine second to Global Glamour in the Group I MRC Thousand Guineas.
Facing a seven day back-up after a good third last Saturday at Moonee Valley, I Am a Star showed the strength of her constitution when powering forward to race up on the pace before kicking away down the running.
She hit the line hard for Dean Yendall to hold off French Emotion and claim a long neck win in the one mile weight-for-age feature.
"She had the right run and gave me a nice kick," said Yendall.
"With the light weight (49kg) she was always going to be hard to catch and she had enough left to keep going."
Shane Nicholls was clearly delighted to have his first Group I winner!"Very excited and extremely pleased get my first Group I winner on Derby Day, it's a great moment," he said and was quick to praise his superstar filly.
"Nothing bothers her. She eats, she works, she does everything right, she's like a nine year-old gelding!"
I Am a Star was a $40,000 Inglis Classic purchase for James Harron Bloodstock from the Broadwater Farm Thoroughbreds draft and has won four of nine starts and $636,450 in prizemoney for owner Matthew Sandblom of Kingstar Farm and Newgate Farm.
I Am a Star was actually bred in New Zealand by Eales Racing and was sold at the NZB Weanling Sale for $12,000 out of the Rich Hill Stud draft before being sent to Australia for re-sale.
A full sister to stakes-placed Band on the Run, I Am a Star is the third winner
for Star Band (USA), a half-sister by Dixieland Band to Group III winner Common
World from the family of Australian Group I winner Pear Tart.Star Band is interestingly also a half-sister to Sicile (Fr), the dam of Group II VRC Wakeful Stakes winner Tiamo Grace, who staked her claim for the Group I VRC Oaks earlier in the program. Read about here here.
Star Band is still in New Zealand and has a yearling filly by Thewayyouare (USA) and was covered last year by Iffraaj (GB).
I Am a Star is the second Group I winner for Yarraman Park's outstanding sire I Am Invincible joining Brazen Beau, who won the Group I VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes on this day in 2014.
I Am Invincible is covering a full book this year at a fee of $55,000 and the first of his yearlings conceived from a higher fee ($27,500 in 2014) will be a hot commodity at Australasian sales in 2017.
