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Double Starred: The Best Unknown Horse in the SIM
Original article written by Jack Meyer posted 9 years 0 weeks ago
With all the hype that surrounded Sidney and his run, Happy Snowman and his chase of perfection, Skyfall’s unbelievable run over the past two years, and the host of other stories that have been front and center throughout the SIM it’s easy to have one fly under the radar. This article is going to highlight arguably the best horse in the SIM that no one knows about. I had a chance to sit down with her owner and get to know both horse and owner bringing you, my SIM audience, a little knowledge behind the mystery that makes up Double Starred.
For those of us who didn’t know Tracy Whetstine and Double Starred here is a little background to get us going. Tracy has been in the SIM since 2006 making Tracy a veteran at first glance. Tracy purchased Double Starred for 15K from Nikki Everdeen after her first start, which was a 75K claiming race, all she has done since then is win 10 of 12 races with earnings of 329K. Double Starred has reeled off 10 straight victories including a pair of Grade 3 races against many of the better Turf Sprinters out there, I think the main reason she has flown under the radar is because she lacks that one big signature victory. I was able to get Tracy to sit down with me and give me a little history lesson about Double Starred, what she’s done, what she’s planning to do, and whether or not that shot at a signature victory is in the cards.
I first asked Tracy about that 15K price tag that Double Starred carried when purchased, I wanted to know if something stood out or if it was just a gut instinct of some sort. “Well what stood out to me with this filly was that she had only run once in a claiming race but she did it nicely, so I was surprised that no one took her. Then I looked at her dam and saw that she had produced some nice horses and her sire has had some decent horses as well so I decided to take a chance.” At first glance, her dam hadn’t thrown that superstar yet, but there were some decent runners in there that would warrant 15K to give this filly a shot.
The next thing that stood out to me was her Speed Figures, I noticed they got better as she aged; I asked Tracy if Double Starred improved over the last year or so or if she was just this good the whole time but didn’t materialize until the last few races. “She has been pretty solid since I have claimed her; I am hoping that this year will be her best year to come. I haven't had a good horse like this since Mullens Bay. I had only one other filly that was going to be this good, but had bad luck due to my lack of knowledge at the time when I had just started playing the game.” I went ahead and did some research on Mullens Bay, he won 10 of 38 races with earnings of 1 million+ in his career. He didn’t produce much after he retired with 7 winners on turf and 7 winners on All-Weather, but it was nice having a solid runner like this early on for Tracy.
I asked Tracy to pinpoint a few highlights in Double Starred’s career that stood out; races that made Tracy realize just how good she was. “She has made me excited and nervous at the same time, when she broke her maiden second time out I thought that maybe I might have a good one. It made me nervous when I started to put her in stakes races not knowing how she would do especially against some of the other fillies that seemed that they were coming out of tougher spots, I wasn't sure how she would do against them. This last race the Bald Man Stakes is what stands out to me. Since it was an absolute mistake on my part that she ended up in and against the boys, and she ended up winning and even beating a horse that is already a grade 1 winner.” That colt that Tracy was talking about that Double Starred beat in the Bald Man Stakes was the talented Pepper Carol owned Koi Pond, he is a multiple Grade 1 winning colt who has beaten the likes of multi-millionaire Path Less Taken, so to beat a colt of that caliber by mistake tells me Double Starred is a star waiting to shine.
A little bird told me that Double Starred may actually be the best horse in the SIM that no one knows about. I had no idea about the filly and wanted to know why I never heard of her, I asked Tracy why Double Starred has flown under the radar as long as she has, “Well I have been kind of careful with her and trying her in her conditions to see how she would progress and finally took a chance to see if she was ready to step it up to the next level.” So, from what I understand, we are seeing Double Starred blossom before our very eyes. Tracy didn’t know how good she was either causing restraint from entering her in major races; I think we are finally going to see the real Double Starred.
I had that itch that just wouldn’t go away, I wanted to know why Tracy has kept Double Starred far away from those big races maybe then I would have known who Double Starred was. I asked Tracy if Double Starred could begin to make her way on the trail to the Steward’s Cup Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, and what her chances were of actually making it there. “For her next start I am looking at a Grade 1 race to see how she would handle it and if she does fine then I will look to nominating her to the Stewards Filly and Mare Turf sprint. I am just trying to let her shine in her own time.” I understand wanting to let her filly shine in her own time, she has shown how bright her star actually is. I see a super horse waiting to burst out of her shell and hope that Tracy realizes soon how good Double Starred is, I think she deserves at least a shot at the best of the best.
With a trip in the Steward’s Cup still in the air I asked Tracy what the goal was for Double Starred outside of the Cup, “I am thinking about taking her back to Europe and running her there and use some of the group 1 races as a stepping point to the cup, there is one race I am looking at in week 6 for her in Australia to use. I am going to give her a little break after the effort she put in to beat the boys, I want her to stay healthy and happy as long as she can. She deserves a chance to shine and I want to make sure she gets that chance.”
In closing, I have been told that you can’t win if you don’t enter here in the SIM, and the fact that Double Starred was placed in a race by accident against the likes of Koi Pond and beat him tells me she is a serious contender among the ranks of the Turf Sprinters, and that’s in either division. I can’t think of any reason why this filly should remain the best horse in the SIM that no one knows about, it’s time to really let her shine…..Steward’s Cup anyone?
Jack Meyer