WA’s stellar stallion set to rise in the east with West Star
Western Australia’s dominant sire Playing God (Blackfriars) will get a chance to land a blow on the eastern seaboard this Saturday when his speedy son West Star lines up in the Gilgai Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), after which trainer Simon Miller will prepare the four-year-old for a “redemption mission” in the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m).
Playing God has been crowned WA’s champion sire for the past three seasons, taking over the mantle from his famous father Blackfriars (Danehill) who was named the state’s pre-eminent stallion 12 years running from 2010 to 2022 – with the last five of those titles earned posthumously after he passed away at the end of 2017.
Playing God is firmly on track to retain his crown this campaign with his progeny having already collected 20 wins – which is more than his prestigious peers Savabeel (Zabeel) and The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice), who have both sent out more Australian runners than the Darling View Thoroughbreds resident.
Playing God is yet to celebrate any black type success this season – principally as there haven’t been any stakes races in Western Australia – but that could all change when West Star makes his debut down the famous Flemington straight on the undercard on Turnbull Stakes Day.
Suitably stellar in both name and nature, West Star became his sire’s 20th individual black type winner when he led home a Playing God quinella in last year’s Belgravia Stakes (Listed, 1200m), before he put his more seasoned rivals to the sword as the $2.30 favourite in the Northam Stakes (Gr 3, 1300m) earlier this year.
It was the manner of that latter performance at Northam in May, allied to a commendable run against interstate raiders in the $5 million Quokka (1200m) at his previous start, that persuaded Miller to return to his former home town of Melbourne in search of more spring riches.
West Star made the trip east last week to acclimatise to his new surroundings, with Miller jetting in on Tuesday afternoon to oversee his final preparations ahead of Saturday’s contest, run under set weights and penalties.
The $175,000 purchase will be piloted by his fellow Perth native Damian Lane, with the pair set to jump from barrier 11 against some highly credentialled rivals led by Lindsay Park’s Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) winner War Machine (Harry Angel).
Like War Machine, West Star is also resuming but the comparisons – at least for now – perhaps end there, which is reflected in their respective quotes of $4.50 (favourite) for the former and $13 for West Star in the early markets.
However, having expended some nervous energy at the Flemington jumpouts shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Miller believes West Star is quite capable of embellishing a fearsome fresh record of two wins and a pair of placings from four first-up starts.
“It’s his first trip away and he’s handled everything really well and settled in beautifully, so it’s all gone to plan so far,” Miller told ANZ News.
“He was probably a little bit immature earlier in his career, but at the back end of his last prep he really furnished into a proper racehorse so that’s when we first formed the idea of bringing him over to the east for the spring carnival. In the Northam Stakes, he sat three-wide without cover and still managed to pull away from the older horses, so at that point I thought he might be the real deal.
“The only time in his career that he’s missed the money was in The Quokka, when he sat too close to a hot speed and all the leaders blew up. So he’s very consistent, but the big test comes on Saturday. There are no hiding places in Melbourne during the spring but I wouldn’t be bringing him all the way over here if I wasn’t confident he could measure up.
“He’ll certainly be fit enough first-up and his work on Wednesday morning was perfect, so we’re right on track for Saturday’s race. He’s got a big stride, a great turn of foot and a good brain on him, so they’re not bad attributes to have.”
After the Gilgai Stakes, West Star will be set for either the Moonga Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) at Caulfield or be loaded onto a truck to Sydney to contest the Silver Eagle (1300m), with a return to Randwick pencilled in for his date with destiny in the Golden Eagle on Saturday, November 1.
By his own admission, Miller is desperate to have another crack at the highly lucrative contest after the heartache he endured with Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni) back in 2023.
Off the back of consecutive stakes wins in the Let’s Elope Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and Stocks Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), in the process beating Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) in track record time, Amelia’s Jewel jumped the $3.70 favourite in the Golden Eagle. However, luck certainly deserted Miller’s golden girl that fateful day at Rosehill, as her prospects were cruelled when she encountered significant interference which might have floored lesser animals.
Amelia’s Jewel picked herself up to finish 11th behind Obamburumai (Discreet Cat) but the experience understandably left a rather bitter taste in Miller’s mouth, which was subsequently exacerbated when the mare left his care to join Annabel Neasham’s stable.
However, the genial horseman is not one to dwell on past disappointments and is determined to exorcise any lingering demons with West Star.
“We thought we had the right horse for the Golden Eagle two years ago, I was really confident heading in then the mare got completely bowled off in the run,” said Miller.
“I’m not saying West Star is as good as she was, but I do think he’s got plenty of ability so we’re definitely coming back for redemption this time. Because he had a tendency to over-race early in his career, we kept him at sprint trips but now that he’s learned to settle and pace himself much better, it opens up a few more doors for us.
“I think 1500 metres in the Golden Eagle should be right up his alley, only time will tell if he gets up to a mile but he’s so dynamic over the shorter distances that we may look to stick to the sprint races when we bring him back for the Perth Carnival in the summer. Depending on what he does over here in the spring, we’d be looking at either running him in the Winterbottom Stakes, the Railway Stakes or the Gold Rush, which shows you just how versatile he is.”
West Star’s versatility is very much in keeping with the progeny produced by Playing God, who are generally adept at sprint trips but have also excelled in the middle distance range, as witnessed by Kay Cee’s triumph in the 2019 Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) – a race won on two occasions by her father.
Unlike, say, a stallion such as So You Think (High Chaparral) who tends to produce foals in his image, with Playing God it’s rather more difficult to pinpoint horses that are typical of the breed, given that they come in all shapes and sizes. But what they generally have in common is an inherent will to win passed onto them by their father, who amassed eight career victories ranging in distance from 1100 metres to 1800 metres.
Miller has a handful of Playing God progeny in residence at his Ascot base, and while he is an avid admirer of the stallion he admits that the discrepancy in their appearance and stature can sometimes make it difficult to sort through his yearlings at the sales.
“He [West Star] fits the style of horse I’m looking for which is why we were keen to get him, but I do find the Playing Gods quite hard to buy in general,” said Miller.
“They come in all shapes and sizes so they don’t always look particularly athletic or built for running. I had a friend over from Melbourne at one of the Perth Sales a couple of years ago, I’d finished all my inspections so I decided to pull all the Playing Gods out to show him how different they are. There were no two yearlings the same, it was like a party mix.
“But it doesn’t stop them from running fast, so if you can find a good one then you’re going to have a lot of fun. His stats back home are just phenomenal, so he’s clearly doing a great job and hopefully West Star can put him on the map in the east this spring.”