Starship Jubilee: From $16,000 Claim to Grade 1 Winner

There have been plenty of claims that didn't work out for Kevin Attard over the two decades he's been training Thoroughbreds. Then there's Starship Jubilee.

The 7-year-old mare has taken Attard on the ride of a lifetime, one that brings them back each winter to where it all began.

Starship Jubilee will chase her third consecutive victory in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Stakes Jan. 18 at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/16-mile event for females 4 and up is among four Florida-bred stakes worth $600,000 in purses on a 12-race Sunshine Millions Day program.

One of only six two-time winners in the event's history, Starship Jubilee could become the first horse to earn three Sunshine Millions victories. Valentine Dancer (2004-05 Filly & Mare Turf), Lava Man (2006 Classic, 2007 Turf), Mucho Macho Man  (2012, 2014 Classic), Manchurian High (2015-16 Turf), and the late X Y Jet (2016, 2018 Sprint) also own two wins.

"It gives her a good race against restricted Florida-breds, and it's a great opportunity to kind of kick off the year. Usually it's her first step of the campaign," Attard said. "She's settled into Florida well. She likes this course, obviously. This is her hometown, so it's always nice bringing her back here. She appreciates the sunshine, and hopefully we can make it three in a row."

Since being claimed for $16,000 out of a February 2017 race at Gulfstream, the daughter of Indy Wind has gone on to win 11 of 23 starts under his care, with four seconds, three thirds, and $1,120,837 in earnings. Seven of those wins have come in stakes, five graded, including the first grade 1 triumph for both the trainer and owner Bonnie Baskin's Blue Heaven Farm in the 1 1/4-mile E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) in October at Woodbine. Overall, she has won 14 of 32 starts and $1,171,387.

"It was really thrilling. A mile and a quarter has always been probably a little bit further than she wants to go. She had won at the distance in the past, but I don't think it's an ideal distance for her," Attard said. "She had a good trip. (Jockey Luis) Contreras gave her a great ride that day, and it was one of the biggest moments in my life with respect to horse racing. It was a great thrill for myself, and a great thrill for the owners. The horse was well deserving of it."

Video: E. P. Taylor S. (G1T)

Starship Jubilee earned the Sovereign Award as Canada's champion turf female in 2017 and 2018 under Attard's watch and figures to be a strong candidate again after racing seven times in 2019 with three wins, three seconds, and a third. Six of those seven races were in graded company.

"There had been some discussions about retiring her and sending her to the breeding shed, but at this point, from my point of view as the trainer, I can tell you she's in good health, she loves her job, she enjoys what she's doing," Attard said. "We're just going to take it race by race and let her kind of determine her future. She's been so consistent, so when it comes time to when she doesn't want to do it anymore, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find her a home fairly easily."

Blue Heaven Farm purchased Starship Jubilee privately from Attard and his partner Soli Mehta before her fourth-place finish in the 2018 Claiming Crown Tiara Stakes at Gulfstream. After being among the initial 17 primary invitees to the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) Jan. 25, her connections elected to pass that race in favor of more conservative placement.

"Obviously, it's an honor to be invited to a race like that. We definitely looked at the (past performances) and the horses she'd be up against in a race like that. There's definitely a lot of thought put into it," Attard said. "She's run really well on this turf course, and I think that's always a bonus. It's against the boys, so we'd get a little bit of weight, and the medication rules—I wasn't concerned about that with her. There was definitely a lot of thought put into it, but I think this race just seems to make a lot more sense for her to kind of start off her campaign if she's going to continue to run as a 7-year-old."

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, aboard for her win in this race last year, gets a return call at top weight of 124 pounds from post 7.

"It's definitely amazing. When you sit back and you have people question how it happens, there's no answer for it. When you're claiming a horse at that level, you're just kind of hoping to get a horse that might win you race and you can have a little fun with. That's all we were looking for," Attard said. "She's certainly surpassed expectations. It's just a fairy-tale ending kind of thing with her, right? There's no way you could have ever anticipated her continuing on to do what she's done and then capping it off with a grade 1 last season. You almost have to pinch yourself to convince you that it's real.

"It's good for racing, too. It's good for the average owner. It gives them a chance to say, 'You know what? Anything can happen in this game.' Sometimes it's just being in the right place at the right time and getting lucky. We won a shake for her that day. You've just got to toss your hat in the ring, and definitely anything can happen."

Also in the field are multiple stakes winner Vow to Recover, making her first start since mid-September; stakes winners Beautiful Lover and Raki; multiple stakes-placed Una Luna; Sweet Hitch Hiker from the barn of Lilli Kurtinecz; Admiral's Win, Bienville Street, Decorated Ace, and Just Sassy. Liza Star is entered for main track only.

Entries: Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf S.

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 8

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Turf
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Beautiful Lover (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Chad C. Brown	9/2
2	2Just Sassy (FL)	Luca Panici	118	Christine Wasilewski	50/1
3	3Decorated Ace (FL)	Luis Saez	118	Michael J. Maker	6/1
4	4Raki (FL)	Carlos D. Lugo	118	Eduardo Azpurua, Jr.	20/1
5	5Admiral's Win (FL)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	118	Juan P. Rizo	20/1
6	6Sweet Hitch Hiker (FL)	Jairo Rendon	118	Lilli Kurtinecz	20/1
7	7Starship Jubilee (FL)	Javier Castellano	124	Kevin Attard	3/5
8	8Bienville Street (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Cam M. Gambolati	15/1
9	9Liza Star (FL)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	120	Peter R. Walder	2/1
10	10Una Luna (FL)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Jose A. Gallegos	8/1
11	11Vow to Recover (FL)	Paco Lopez	122	Elizabeth L. Dobles	20/1