Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: 2024 winner Starlust back after interrupted stud career

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Nestled in a back corner atop a hill at Keeneland, far away from most other Breeders’ Cup entrants on the other side of the training track, trainer Ralph Beckett and the 5-year-old Starlust have grown accustomed to life on the outskirts of the Kentucky scene this week.

“It’s no different, only we’re just in a different barn from everybody else, which I’m cool with,” Beckett said. “It’s nice up here.”

Because the European contender has not received “continuous training,” having returned from an aborted stud career in Australia earlier this year, Breeders’ Cup regulations dictate that the 2024 Turf Sprint winner must be accompanied by a veterinarian to the track every morning. As a result, he has been placed in Barn 45, a separate quarantine barn down the road from the other European contenders. He is instead stabled alongside Forever Young, several other Japanese contenders, the Dubai-based Dark Saffron, and his stablemate, Qirat, who will run in the Mile.

Despite the additional attention, Beckett said he has not experienced any training interruptions in Kentucky. His most trouble with the horse this year is likely behind him, as the trainer said it took time to get him back in suitable form when he returned to Great Britain in May. His struggles at stud in Australia were related to fertility issues.

“It was complicated, but it wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be,” Beckett said of getting the horse ready again. “He took awhile to get back into the routine, but he’s a very straightforward horse to train, and that really helped. It did take him three runs to grasp what was really required.”

Starlust remains winless in nine starts since his 33-1 upset in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar. He has finished within 2 1/2 lengths of Turf Sprint contenders Bacio, Comanche Brave, and Miss Yechance in his last three starts, and while Beckett hopes he can contend again, he said he anticipates a difficult task from post 13.

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