Shamardal’s five-year-old son Pakistan Star has always been considered a hugely talented performer and on Sunday, 29 April, he rewarded the faith shown by his connections with a simply superb victory in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin in Hong Kong.
Smartly away under William Buick, Pakistan Star raced close to the pace throughout the ten-furlong contest and once finding a gap as the field quickened for home, could not have been more impressive as he flew to the front and won going away by three lengths.
Victorious on his racecourse debut, Pakistan Star found only the ill-fated Rapper Dragon (by fellow Darley stallion Street Boss) too good in last year’s Hong Kong Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby, before being beaten just a neck in this contest last April.
Bred by Gestut Wittekindshof, Pakistan Star is out of the multiple Stakes winner Nina Celebre, herself a daughter of G1 German Oaks winner Next Gina.
Earlier on the same card, Exceed And Excel’s Hong Kong flagbearer Mr Stunning, winner of last year’s G1 Hong Kong Sprint, put up another solid performance to take second in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
Exceed And Excel stands at Kildangan Stud at a fee of €50,000, Oct 1, SLF, alongside Shamardal who now stands privately.
