Phillip Stokes acknowledges Climbing Star (NZ) (Zoustar) will be stepping up to another level when she runs in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes at weight-for-age on Friday night at The Valley, but he’s upbeat about her chances.
So much so that he’s giving a good push for punters who like value.
“She’s 50-1 in the betting and I can see her running in the top four,” Stokes said.
Last preparation, Stokes decided to keep Climbing Star to sprint races and this strategy paid off handsomely as she elevated herself to one of the better sprinters in the land with her four-run campaign over the Adelaide Carnival at Morphettville.
She won the Listed Matrice Stakes first-up and finished second to Benedetta in the G3 Irwin Stakes before taking out the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes and then completing her campaign with a third placing behind Benedetta and stablemate Stretan Angel in the G1 The Goodwood.
“I trained her differently and kept her fresh to 1200m and she obviously came a long way last preparation and probably took people by surprise,” Stokes said.
Stokes suggested that the Adelaide form shouldn’t be overlooked.
“They were Group 1s in Adelaide, but a lot of good sprinters were there and she raced and beat some top horses,” he said.
“She’s got stronger again after that preparation.”
Stokes said he has a multitude of options for Climbing Star and her performance in the Manikato will decide which races he targets with her.
“This is a good starting point as to which way we go. I’ll have a pretty good idea after she runs in it,” he said.
Climbing Star is likely to go back from a wide barrier draw of 11, but Stokes pointed out that she can race forward or back.
“I think we’ll just look at this. Looking at it now, it looks like it will be a high-pressure race, so I’d say we’ll probably be going back,” he said.
Dan Stackhouse has been riding Climbing Star in her recent jumpouts and will be in the saddle for the first time under race conditions on Friday night.
“He’s keen and he’s in good form. He’s desperate to ride his first Group 1 winner,” Stokes said.
