‘It Was a Dream For Us to Win the Arc and She Gave Us That’: Starlet’s Sister Dies at 14

[Wandering Eyes]

Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the dam of Sottsass (Fr) and Sistercharlie (Ire), has died at Ecurie des Monceaux after an attack of colic at the age of 14.

Bred by Prestonwood Farm from the Green Tune mare Premiere Creation (Fr), Starlet's Sister was winless in four starts when trained by Alain de Royer Dupre but has nevertheless left her mark on racing in Europe and America, as well as in the Arqana sale ring in Deauville. 

Her first mating with Myboycharlie (Ire) resulted in Sistercharlie, whose Group 3 win in France was later eclipsed by her seven Grade 1 triumphs in America for Chad Brown following her purchase by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm. Her success prompted significant investment in the family by Brant, who also owns her treble Grade 3-winning daughter and Grade I runner-up My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}). 

Greater rewards were to come, however. Through Michel Zerolo, Brant bought Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) as a yearling at Arqana for €340,000. The first Classic-winning colt for his sire in the Prix du Jockey Club, Sottsass went on to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and now stands at Coolmore. He will have his first runners in 2024.

Thereafter, the demand for the offspring of Starlet's Sister grew each year. Pure Dignity (GB), her daughter by Dubawi (Ire), topped the Arqana Select Sale in 2020 when bought by Victorious Racing and KHK Racing through Oliver St Lawrence for €2.5 million. Last year it was the turn of Shin Emperor (Fr), a full-brother to Sottsass, who sold for €2.1 million to Yoshito Yahagi. The juvenile colt recently made a winning debut in Tokyo. To date, seven of the mare's eight runners have won.

Henri Bozo, who owns Ecurie des Monceaux and bought the mare privately from Hubert Guy in 2013, said, “It's a tough game sometimes, and today has been very sad.

“She has been such a special mare. It was a dream for us to win the Arc and she gave us that. She was so straightforward in everything she did. She went in foal every year until this year and she produced good foals. She never had any problems until this morning when she had colic.”

Monceaux retained Starlet's Sister's current three-year-old filly Snowpark (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) and also her yearling colt by Siyouni after he was injured in the paddock in March. Though only relatively minor, the injury prevented him from going to the sales but he remains a racing prospect. 

“Thank God we kept her last filly, Snowpark,” Bozo said. “She won very impressively first time out in Deauville as a two-year-old and then she got sick earlier this year, but she will be the link to the family.”

Reflecting on his purchase of Starlet's Sister, whose full-sibling Leo's Starlet (Ire) won the G3 Prix Cleopatre, he added, “I spoke to her trainer and he told me that she had some ability. The fact that she was by Galileo and that Alain de Royer Dupre had said that, along with her pedigree, was enough for me to take our chance. She was so easy to deal with and we all loved her.”

 

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