This week on THE BREED blog.

Starspangledbanner's win in Saturday's Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield was confirmation for his new owners, Coolmore, that they made the right decision investing in their latest stallion prospect.

It the second time that the Australian arm of Coolmore has been able to convince owner John Magnier, based in Ireland, to buy an Australian-bred horse for stud duties without the knowledge that the horse's pedigree and racing performances would make him a suitable prospect for the lucrative shuttle market.

They took the risk with Haradasun (b h 2003, Fusaichi Pegasus (USA)-Circles Of Gold, by Marscay) a couple of years back, and were rewarded when Haradasun won the 2008 Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot to secure his place on the Tipperary roster.

While Starspangledbanner (ch h 2006, Choisir-Gold Anthem, by Made Of Gold (USA)) was already a commercial stallion prospect after his all-the-way win in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield in the spring, his ability to return in the autumn to win again at the highest level has enhanced his reputation.

The colt's original owners - a syndicate that now races the horse on lease until after the Newmarket Handicap - created post-race scenes normally reserved for a football match, but the boys from Coolmore, Michael Kirwan and Colm Santry, were just as ecstatic. It's always good to get it right when you are spending the boss's money.

After the Group 1 Newmarket (1200m) at Flemington on March 6, Starspangledbanner will travel to Ireland to trainer Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle and is likely to be prepared for one or both of the Group 1 sprints - the King's Stand Stakes (1000m) and the Golden Jubilee Stakes (1200m) (races his sire Choisir won in 2003) - during the Royal Ascot carnival, although the colt is proven at 1600m, so O'Brien could set him for the Queen Anne.

A Group 1 win in England, Ireland or France will see the horse emerge as a lucrative shuttle stallion, which suits Coolmore's strategy - they are money men and it doesn't make financial sense to have a stallion resting in his paddock when he could be shuttling to another breeding season in another hemisphere. The till needs to tick, constantly - as it has with Choisir. (Choisir has covered full books in both hemispheres since he retired in 2003, although he is being rested from this shuttle after his Australian spring when he covered 227 mares at a fee of $35,750 (plus GST).

You get the impression that success of the purchase of Starspangledbanner is important for another reason - how else will Coolmore Australia source new stallions for their Hunter Valley property other than buy them in Australia as yearlings or off the track.

With Danehill gone, Coolmore Ireland's success is incumbent around their Sadler's Wells sons Montjeu and Galileo, both outstanding sires and the stallions who have supplied Coolmore Ireland with their big Group 1 wins in the last two years.

Despite their great successes in Europe, Australian breeders will be less inclined to support sons of Galileo and Montjeu. Both stallions have shuttled in the past with mixed results and support - Galileo has been a distinct disappointment (perhaps tempered by the potential of recent Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes winner Linton), whereas Montjeu has done well from his New Zealand base, but his sons are stayers and not on the Australian breeder's agenda.

It must be a worry for Coolmore's Australian division, which has ridden on the back of the success of the wonderful Danehill for the last 15 or so years. The decision to send Fastnet Rock to Ireland for the 2010 breeding season is an important move by Coolmore, and obviously, in part, in a hope that this outstanding young sire will have an impact from a hand-picked private book of 60 select mares and provide appealing stallions for the southern hemisphere market.

Starspangledbanner is a beautiful colt with an attractive speed pedigree - with a double dose of the great Star Kingdom (4x6) - and he fits the mould of the modern Australian sprinter-miler as stallion. The next step is to see if the horse named after an American anthem can jig to an Irish tune.

Footnote: Starspangledbanner and Haradasun are closely related. Starspangledbanner's granddam Northern Song (ch m 1992, Vain-Olympic Aim (NZ), by Zamazaan (FR)) is a half-sister to Circles Of Gold (ch m 1991, by Marscay), the dam of Haradasun and his champion half-brother Elvstroem (by Danehill (USA)).

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