Matchmaker Matchmaker: Starstruck does it again

It's been a long time between drinks for Starstruck. One year, to be exact. After six losing performances in a row, the five-year-old daughter of Galileo made her return to the Jersey Shore a successful one, winning the Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker by 1 1/4 lengths for the second consecutive year.

 

 

Biding her time in the middle of the pack early under Kerwin Clark, Starstruck sat comfortably behind solid splits of :24.09, :47.34, and 1:10.93 put down by longshot Nashly's Vow. As that one began to tire, the field moved in, and Starstruck looked for room off the rail. 

 

 

Making most of the hole that she found, Starstruck burst through an opening at the eighth pole, and quickly took over the lead. The Calumet Farm owned mare kicked for home from there, and cruised to the wire just as easy a winner as last year. Final time for the nine furlongs, over the firm turf was an excellent 1.46:35.

 

 

“I’ve been watching the races all day and speed looked like it’s been holding on turf so I wanted to be as close as possible without using her.  We were able to accomplish that.  Around the turn, I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to get through and I was just hoping it would split open.  It did and she ran and ran well.”

 

 

The Canadian based Irish Mission, who was forwardly placed throughout stayed on well down the stretch to finish second. Making her first start since the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup, she finished another 1 1/4 lengths clear of third place finisher, and race favorite Watsdachances. 

 

 

Winning trainer, Larry Jones, was understandably proud of his charge after the race, and talked about her preference the course she has found at Monmouth in back-to-back years.

 

“There wasn’t a whole lot of instructions, Kerwin’s (jockey Clark) been on in the morning and he knows what to do. I was just hoping something was going to open up for her, and it did. They told me when they sent her from Ireland that she didn’t like soft going and until we got to Delaware the other day we didn’t get firm going. Maybe she’s just a Monmouth horse, this is two in a row for her in the Matchmaker!”  

 

 

Sent off at odds of 5-1, Starstruck paid $13.00/$6.60/$4.00. Irish Mission returned $5.00/$3.60, and Watsdachances paid $2.80 for the show. The $2 exacta paid a healthy $72.40, while the $1 trifecta was good for $113.00.