Starcraft (horse)

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Starcraft is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who came to international attention when he won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Newmarket in England in September 2005. He was bred in New Zealand, is owned by a syndicate of Australians, was trained by Italian Luca Cumani and was ridden by French jockey Christophe Lemaire.

It was the 11th win from 21 races for the giant stallion who stands 17 hands, and his fifth Group 1 success.

By Soviet Star, from Flying Floozie (Pompeii Court-Lucky Heiress), Starcraft was foaled at Garry and Mark Chittick's Waikato Stud in New Zealand and was auctioned as a yearling for only $NZ80,000 to a partnership headed by Australian Paul Makin.

Starcraft progressed from a Maiden victory in Queensland to winning the Group 1 Australian Derby in Sydney, Australia as a 3 year old. Other victories included the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes, also in Sydney. As a 4 year old he won the Group 1 Mudgway Stakes in New Zealand before been beaten into 3rd in the 2004 Cox Plate after starting one of the favourites. Despite this setback the owners continued with their plans on worldwide campaign for Starcraft. In Europe, he surprised many Northern Hemisphere racefans with his dominance when he won the 1600 metre Prix du Moulin at Longchamp, Paris. He proved this was no fluke, and that he was the dominant miler in Europe, when winning the Queen Elizabeth which was held at Newmarket because Ascot was being refurbished at the time.

The horse started in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic event at Belmont Park in the United States in 2005. The owners had to pay a fee of $800,000 to enter him in this race, which was considered a huge gamble because it was a dirt track and the horse had always previously raced on grass. He drew the outside barrier, got away to a slow start and finished 7th in a 13 horse field.

Starcraft retired to stud in 2006. He served his first group of mares to Northern Hemisphere time at Cheveley Park Stud and stood his first Southern Hemisphere season at Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.