VICTORY to Star Witness in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot will set up a dream date between the dual group 1 winner and soon-to-be stallion and a former champion of the Royal meeting, Miss Andretti, reports The Age. It says: Widden Stud principal Antony Thompson revealed he had been contacted by prominent owner Sean Buckley with a tantalising proposal should Star Witness justify his favouritism in the race early tomorrow Melbourne time. "Sean contacted me to wish us luck and to let m

VICTORY to Star Witness in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot will set up a dream date between the dual group 1 winner and soon-to-be stallion and a former champion of the Royal meeting, Miss Andretti, reports The Age.

It says: Widden Stud principal Antony Thompson revealed he had been contacted by prominent owner Sean Buckley with a tantalising proposal should Star Witness justify his favouritism in the race early tomorrow Melbourne time.

"Sean contacted me to wish us luck and to let me know that if he wins ... he will be sending Miss Andretti to him next season. He wants to breed a King's Stand winner to a King's Stand winner," said Thompson.

As attractive as that mating would be, Thompson is just glad to be back on English soil with a legitimate contender for one of Europe's most important sprint races. Twelve months ago, he stood in the parade ring at Royal Ascot just three weeks after Widden bought the controlling stake in Lightning Stakes winner Nicconi.
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Remarkably, Thompson had sealed the deal to buy Nicconi on the eve of the horse's departure for England, putting Thompson within arm's reach of British royalty, as well as some of the great trainers and jockeys of Europe, on one of the most famous racecourses in the world. To make the experience even more perfect, his horse was favourite for the race and the centre of attention in the parade ring.

"We had a throw at the stumps last year with Nicconi and it was a great experience and thankfully the horse ran well to finish fourth," Thompson said.