Hall Of Fame - Change the Stars

Original article written by Nena Olson posted 15 years 2 weeks ago

Every now and then a great horse comes along and sometimes, they are of somewhat humble beginnings. The Hall of Fame likes to honor those who have risen to the top, despite all situations, and there has not been a filly so properly named for this honor then Change The Stars.

Out of a pretty ordinary mare, Change the Stars, had a pretty iffy future ahead of her. Her dam had not even broken her maiden on the track, and her granddam had only one successful offspring, a winner of $400k. However her sire side looked a bit more promising with the sire being a multimillionaire Steward’s Cup Turf winner, as well as the sire to many superstars such as Star Studded and Shipwrecked. That stallion’s name? Astarabad. With the hopes and dreams of one little filly riding on the shoulders of her successful sire, it really could have been a miracle that she made it as far as she did.

The road to stardom for Change the Stars, started in Year 11, Week 3 when she was asked to take her lanky self to the track for the first time in a 5f turf maiden for 2 year old fillies. Could a filly who stood at a towering 17.1H really be successful in such a short race? The answer was a firm yes as Change the Stars won her debut by a half length over eventual stakes winner, Expectations. With her future still uncertain, and her talent in debate, Change the Stars made her stakes debut in the second race of her career. The 6.5f Turf Commitment Stakes against open company soon found themselves a new superstar, as Change the Stars powered home to a convincing three and a half length victory over Hedancessuperpants.

Owner Isabella Penzance was now finding herself in the situation where the filly she bred from a humble dam, was on the brink of stardom. Where would the road lead her next? With a big leap of faith, Change the Stars was entered in the Los Campeones Juvenile with such superstars as It’s Okay to Cry and Mystic Dragoness. The race proved to be a bit to much to soon, as Change the Stars lost her first race, though still managing a remarkable second, to It’s Okay to Cry.

One could have said the race took a lot out of her, as her first start as a 3 year old brought the worst race of her career. The Jennifer Stewart Stakes fell on week two, but even after a five week vacation, Change the Stars could only manage a fifth place finish. Was the fillies confidence lost? Maybe it was the distance that did her in? Whatever it was her owner and breeder Isabella decided to give her a bit of a confidence boost, by entering her in a ten furlong allowance race four weeks later. It was clearly more then enough as she bounded home to an eight length victory. Whatever it was that day, it was enough because Change the Stars became a terror on the turf. The long legged filly with monster strides was either winning or making the winner work their hearts out, the rest of her career.

Change the Stars’s career consisted of two G1 victories, but was runner up in both the Year 12 and Year 13 Steward’s Cup Turf where she lost to both Three of Crowns and Storm Trader. Her victories included the G1 Future Hero Stakes, G1 Desert Sheema Classic Invitation Only, the G2 Kelso Handicap, Conduit Stakes and U, Chief Bearheart Handicap, and the Tropical Turf Handicap. In a career of 13 starts, Change the Stars managed to find her way to the finish line first in nine races and had three places. Her lone off the board finish was her fifth place effort in the Jennifer Stewart. Her successful career brought a total accumulation of $3,167,000 in purse earnings. Her last year on the track also earned her the SIMMY for European Champion Older Mare. After the Year 13 SC Turf, Change the Stars changed her career to that of a broodmare where once again, she changed quite a few stars.

As a broodmare, Change the Stars was nothing short of exceptional with her total progeny earnings reaching $7,198,255 and her offspring including some stellar stars such as her very first foal. Bred to her arch nemesis Three of Crowns, the resulting offspring was a horse who’s career on the track and in the breeding shed has been nothing short of outstanding. A Crown Awaits may have been Change of Stars single greatest accomplishment in the history of the SIM, with his studbook record of 83% winners and 32.4% stakes winners keeping him at the top of the sire lists for quite a few years.

Change the Stars has one other millionaire offspring to her name, a filly not much unlike herself, named Taian. Taian was a monster over in Japan and finished up her career with a runner up effort in the Steward’s Cup Filly & Mare Turf which brought her earnings to $1,461,000. She is quickly following in Change the Stars footsteps as a broodmare as well, with her offspring so far earning $1,233,050 on the track.

Change the Star’s other foals include: G1 winner Bardic, G1 winner Kingdom of Stars, G2 winner Loveofmylife, G3 winner If You Believe, G2 placed Inlovewithdreams, G3 placed Settheworldafire, stakes placed Rewrite Destiny and three foals that have yet to debut. She has a two year old colt on the ground by the name of A Little Faith, and a yearling filly named Unraveling.

Unfortunately, fate decided to intervene and the year that Change the Stars switched ownership, was the year that Change the Stars decided to pass onto the next stage of her life. Foaling an unnamed black filly, sired by Night Shade, Change the Stars left us. Though her passing certainly brought an end of an era for the future of turf, the hoof prints she left behind brought so much change to the history of the SIM’s turf that she will forever be remembered as not only a great racing mare, but a mare who brought something brilliant to all horses with her blood racing through them. Maybe someday, one of her grand foals or great great foals will change the stars for you too. Until then, lets welcome her to the Hall of Fame, where her greatness will shine like the star she is forever.

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