Horse Tales: Golden start for Startantes

By Glenn Davis

It is often said that you need deep pockets and patience to be involved in the breeding game.

Eagle Farm trainer Rob Heathcote has shown that to be the case time and time again and is bearing the rewards with his latest locally-bred discovery, Startantes.

Heathcote has bred from a number of quality mares since he first started training 24 years ago, but none have been better than his Just Awesome mare Cantantes, the grand dam of Startantes.

“You win some and you lose some when it comes to breeding,” Heathcote said.

“I’ve been lucky but I did buy a foal once for $64,000 and it just dropped dead in the paddock one day.

“The pinnacle of racing is to have a Group 1 winner so if you get the chance to run in a Group 1 you have to take it, and that’s what we did with Startantes.”

Startantes’ stable name is “Little Pumpkin” as Heathcote describes her as one of the smallest fillies he’s ever trained.

“She’s tiny and would be about 15 hands at best. But she’s always shown she had a lot of ability, even from day one,” he said.

“She’s probably flown under everyone’s radar so far, including me.”

Startantes is a daughter of Star Turn from Funtantes, a daughter of Heathcote’s former top producing broodmare, Cantantes.

Cantantes amassed to very little on the racetrack, winning only two of her 37 starts, but proved a star in the breeding barn, going on to be one of Queensland’s best broodmares over the past two decades.

Heathcote, a five-times Brisbane premiership winning trainer, has trained just about all of Cantantes' offspring including Funtantes, Excellantes and Guntantes.

Apart from that trio, Cantantes also produced winners Notre Amour, Kingtantes, Khaptantes, Brilliantes, Remembering Frank and Alle Vongole before she died in 2018.

A daughter of Easy Rocking, Funtantes has also proven to be a success at stud as well as on the racetrack after producing five-times winner Ziemba and now, Startantes.

Funtantes won 10 times during her career earning more than $704,000 in prizemoney with her best wins in the Group 2 Champagne Classic at Doomben in 2009 and Listed Nudgee Handicap and Listed Juanmo Stakes.

Her second foal Startantes won three straight races at Doomben in August and September which enticed connections to fork out a $37,500 late entry fee for the Group 1 Golden Rose at Rosehill in September.

Heathcote had originally planned to start in a lower-level fillies and mares race in Sydney but after assessing her likely three-year-old opposition had a shot at the stumps in the Golden Rose.

“It was a throw at the stumps but she had banked more than $200,000 in her few wins before so it was worth having a go,” Heathcote said.

After being with the tailenders most of the way, Startantes made a huge impression flashing home late for sixth to the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained In The Congo in the $1 million Golden Rose.

“It was a phenomenal run in the Golden Rose,” Heathcote said.

“She was damn unlucky to draw wide and she had to go back from the alley.”

Startantes ran her last 400m in 22.11 seconds, bettered only by Group 1 winners Artorius (21.90 seconds) and Anamoe (22.01 seconds).

“Her final 400m was one of the quickest in the race along with Anamoe and Artorius who won the Blue Diamond in Melbourne,” Heathcote said.

“Her effort showed she was a good quality filly so we took the decision to back her up in the Flight Stakes.”

The Flight Stakes over 1400m was run at Rosehill the following week but to Heathcote’s surprise she was an early favourite in the days preceding the Group 1 feature.

“It cost us $22,000 to run in the Flight Stakes and I was over the moon with her run,” Heathcote said.

“She made up a ton of ground and vindicated our decision to run her in the race.

“Her future is now assured as she’s Group 1 placed."

The Flight Stakes was run in pouring rain and any knockers of her ability to back-up and run 1600m were quickly silenced when she charged home to fill the minor placing behind former Queenslander, Hinged.

Heathcote has always had a good opinion of Startantes since the day she finished second in her debut at Ipswich in February.

She made no mistake winning a 1200m maiden at her second outing at Eagle Farm in March.

“She won a barrier trial at Doomben and in her first run she ran a great race to finish second at Ipswich,” Heathcote said.

“I then took her to Eagle Farm for a maiden and she got well back before she went on to win by two lengths.

“We found out that day at Eagle Farm that her pattern of racing was to get back and let her run on.”

Startantes only had two more starts in her first preparation.

She followed up her maiden triumph with a close up third to the Chris Munce-trained Military Gambler when dropping back in distance to 1110m in March before winning over 1200m at Doomben in April.

“I put her out for a short break after her Doomben win and she had one start at Eagle Farm before she went bang, bang, bang winning three straight at Doomben,” he said.

“I always thought she was up to something better in the south after she beat Alpine Edge at Doomben.

“Alpine Edge ran second in the Magic Millions Classic and his run in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude when he finished fourth gave us the incentive to go to Sydney.”

Startantes is not eligible for the Magic Millions Carnival at the Gold Coast in January but Heathcote has bigger plans in mind after she returns from a spell.

“I want to get her ready for the Brisbane Winter Carnival next year so she’ll have a decent spell over the summer,” he said.

“I think she might make a good lightweight hope in the Stradbroke.”

The Stradbroke is a long way off and would be fairytale result if she could win but just like the breeding caper, Heathcote and connections have plenty of patience.

This article first appeared in the November issue of RACE Magazine.