Seven up for Starspangledbanner as Beauty Eternal makes Group 1 breakthrough

Starspangledbanner's influence at the highest echelons of Hong Kong racing grew even more pronounced at Sha Tin on Sunday morning with the victory of Beauty Eternal in the Group 1 Champions Mile.

The success makes Beauty Eternal the seventh individual Group 1 winner sired by Coolmore's July Cup and Golden Jubilee Stakes winner, and he is the first Australian-born son of Starspangledbanner to win at the highest level.

Two of those seven Group 1 winners have come in Hong Kong and Starspangledbanner has sired 25 global Group winners from 39 stakes winners.

With multiple Group 1 winner California Spangle runner-up in the Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize earlier on the card, the timing could not be more perfect for Starspangledbanner as Coolmore Australia released their fees for the upcoming southern hemisphere breeding season.

The Group 1 Oakleigh Plate and Caulfield Guineas winner will stand at A$44,000 (all fees inc GST) which is an increase of 33 per cent on his 2023 fee.

He will be joined on the journey to Australia from Fethard by St Mark's Basilica who is advertised at A$38,500 and Churchill who will stand for A$19,800. The fee for both sires is considerably less than their European fees of €50,000 and €30,000 respectively.

Wootton Bassett, sire of Saturday's impressive Navan juvenile maiden winner Camille Pissaro, will also shuttle to the Hunter Valley with his Australian fee to be announced. He is advertised at €200,000 for the current northern hemisphere season.

Starspangledbanner resumed shuttling to Coolmore Australia last year after a hiatus and stood for a fee of A$33,000 (inc GST) while he commands a fee of €45,000 at Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud in County Cork.

His latest Group 1 winner was bred from his first stint shuttling to Coolmore Australia having previously stood the southern hemisphere season at Rosemont Stud in Victoria.

Beauty Eternal was bred by Peter Raftopoulos out of the Savabeel mare Ithacan Queen who comes from a very familiar European family. The New Zealand-bred mare is a daughter of Bering Island by Bering who is the broodmare sire of Stradivarius and Little Big Bear. Placed at Saint-Cloud, Bering Island was transferred to New Zealand where she won.

Bering Island is a half-sister to the Rainbow Quest-sired pair of Group 1 Futurity Trophy winner and sire Crowded House and On Reflection who is a Listed winner and sire, Vienna Affair dam of Grade 2 winner Daring Dancer and Argent Du Bois. The last-named is the dam of Pivotal's Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Brando and the Grade 1 American Oaks and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Ticker Tape. 

Argent Du Bois' Listed-placed daughter Saint Elena is the dam of Prix Morny, Middle Park and Norfolk Stakes winner Reckless Abandon and the Japanese Listed winner Best Approach.

Beauty Eternal is the fourth foal out of Ithacan Queen and was consigned by Fernrigg Farm at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale where he was purchased by John Foote Bloodstock for A$90,000. 

He is trained by John Size for Patrick Kwok and is now the winner of nine of his 17 career starts, having been placed in six more including when second in the Group 1 Stewards' Cup to Voyage Bubble.

His first stakes win came last year in the Group 3 Lion Rock Trophy and he quickly doubled that tally in the Premier Cup, defeating Circuit Stellar on both occasions. Beauty Eternal was third to California Spangle in the Group 2 Sha Tin Trophy and then earned his first Group 2 win in November's Jockey Club Mile.

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