I Am A Star is continuing to live up to her name on the racetrack with a string of feature race wins against her own sex in Melbourne.
The Shane Nichols-trained mare notched another feature win at Caulfield on Wednesday in the Group Three Ladies’ Day Vase (1600m) on the back of recent victories in the Let’s Elope Stakes and Stocks Stakes at Group Two level.
I Am A Star is now set to chase a second Group One win in the Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington on November 3.
“Bring it on,” Nichols said.
I Am A Star won the Empire Rose (1600m) for fillies and mares as a three-year-old in 2016 when known as the Myer Classic, and Nichols is confident the five-year-old is on target for the race again.
Nichols opted to scratch I Am A Star from a wide draw in last Saturday’s Group One Toorak Handicap at Caulfield fearing she would get posted wide and have “a gutbuster”.
Instead he waited for the easier option of keeping I Am A Star to mares’ company on Wednesday, despite having the outside barrier and equal top weight of 58kg.
I Am A Star ($4.40) began quickly under jockey Ben Melham to cross to the front and from there Melham was able to control the race.
I Am A Star gave enough of a kick to comfortably hold her rivals at bay, beating Kenedna by a half-length with Oregon‘s Day another half-head away third.
“I think after they had gone 100 metres she had gone from a $4 chance to a $1.50 pop,” Nichols said.
“Once they were happy to just let him (Melham) dictate the race, she was going to take a hell of a lot of running down.”
I Am A Star took her record to 10 wins from 26 starts, with nine of her wins coming in Group races.
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