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Trainer Phillip Stokes thought his hopes of landing a second win in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville were over shortly after the start of the Group 1 race.
Instead of being near the leading division and out wide on a track favouring horses getting well away from the fence in straight, Stokes could see Climbing Star back on the fence and in second last position after the field had gone 100m.
Stokes had set the mare for the Group 1 race over 1200 metres for fillies and mares and was hoping the mare could emulate Instant Celebrity who took the honours in 2021.
Ridden by Lachlan Neindorf , Climbing Star $26 in betting cut the corner and powered home to a half-neck win over Learning To Fly ($10) with Benedetta ($9) a half-head away third.
Stokes has always held Climbing Star in high esteem and after the mare won on debut at Cranbourne as a three-year-old, the now four-year-old had not won again until the start of her current campaign.
“She ran in some Stakes races as a younger horse but wasn’t quite ready for them, but she’s come into her own,” Stokes said.
“She’s come of age this campaign. She’s just starting to blossom now, and I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of her.
“She’s got a great spring ahead of her.”
Instant Celebrity backed up two weeks later to run second in the Group 1 The Goodwood over Saturday’s course and distance, and Stokes said the race could be on Climbing Star’s agenda.
“We don’t have to go there, and we’d have to be happy with her to do that, but if she pulls up well, we’ll look at it,” Stokes said.
Neindorf was emotional on returning to scale in registering his maiden Group 1 win, but showed he has a head on his shoulders exceeding his young years.
After stumbling at the start, Neindorf elected to ride for luck and was hoping to register a top three placing.
“A lot was going through my head,” Neindorf said.
“I just wanted to treat it like a normal race, and I kept saying to myself behind the gates, ‘it’s a normal race’, just go through it like it’s a benchmark race.
“So, I cut my losses after stumbling at the start, went back to the inside and if you run home into a place with even luck, that’s good.”
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