Progressive Sprinter The Latest Stakes Winner By Starspangledbanner

Two Stars (5g Starspangledbanner – Glowing Star, by Clodovil) maintained his upward curve when registering his first black-type win in Monday’s Listed Woodlands Stakes at Naas.

Fozzy Stack’s charge earned a rating of 102 for his successful seasonal return at the Curragh last month – his third win from nine starts, having earned prize money on all occasions. He was sent off second favourite as he stepped up in class, with Joey Sheridan positioning the five-year-old in second.

Asserting before the two-furlong pole, he was pushed along a furlong later and kept on well to deny the even-money favourite by half a length. The pair finished four lengths clear of Stack’s three-year-old filly Unexpected Issues (Starspangledbanner) in third.

“He’s fast - if anything is in front of him, they are going too quick!” said the winning trainer. “Five [furlongs] is his thing and I wouldn’t like to take on Ger’s horse over six. We’ll keep him going for a little bit and then give him a break and maybe aim for the Flying Five which has a habit of coming up soft.”

The son of Starspangledbanner is a homebred of Mrs Anne Gaffney, the executors of the late Mrs T Gaffney and Liam Butler.