Marshall is ‘Seeking The Stars’

TRAINER Vaughan Marshall will saddle nearly 20 horses at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Monday, including three lively chances in the Grade 3 Champagne Stakes over 1200m. Seeking The Stars has long been one of the stable favourites and being seven years old, he has seemingly not lost any zest for racing. He could claim a richly deserved ninth career win under Gavin Lerena.

- ALISTAIR COHEN

When Lerena travels to Cape Town for Marshall, one needs to take notice. He was associated with One Stripe for nearly the last 12 months for the same owner, Rikesh Sewgoolam. Seeking The Stars has almost been hidden in the shadows of other big-name Marshall horses like One World, Rascallion and One Stripe, but his efforts have never gone unnoticed.

Gimme A Prince

During the Cape Summer Festival of Racing, he kept the best company at Grade 1 and Grade 2 levels. He was hardly going to be a threat to Gimme A Prince, who is the highest rated horse in South Africa, but that Grade 1 dust has settled and Seeking The Stars may have found the right landing spot to win again.

In January, he was run off his feet in the Grade 1 World Pool Cape Flying Championship over 1000m, but when one considers Gimme A Prince was a facile five-length winner, he was just behind some A-Grade sprinters beaten by 7,2 lengths overall. Seeking The Stars fol-lowed up with a good 2,15-length fourth behind Gimme A Prince in the Grade 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes over 1200m a month later. One could argue that Gimme A Prince ran a level below himself but it was still an admirable performance.