Well, even super sprinters get btn - and that's what happened to the Aussie flash Starspangledbanner at York in the UK overnight. the website At The Races says: 'Near silence descended upon York as 100-1 shot Sole Power caused one of the biggest surprises in Group One history by winning the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes. Not even trainer Eddie Lynam or his jockey Wayne Lordan were expecting much from the three-year-old, who only had two all-weather victories at Dundalk to his name and had finished f

Well, even super sprinters get btn - and that's what happened to the Aussie flash Starspangledbanner at York in the UK overnight. the website At The Races says: 'Near silence descended upon York as 100-1 shot Sole Power caused one of the biggest surprises in Group One history by winning the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes. Not even trainer Eddie Lynam or his jockey Wayne Lordan were expecting much from the three-year-old, who only had two all-weather victories at Dundalk to his name and had finished fifth in a Listed race at Tipperary just two weeks earlier. But somehow he defied the form book and the betting by beating the apparently invincible 6-4 favourite Golden Jubilee and July Cup winner Starspangledbanner by a length and a quarter. The theme of upsets was continued into the minor placings with another 100-1 shot, Piccadilly Filly, managing to snatch third while the second best in the market, Equiano, was a huge disappointment and came home last.'

Despite the shock defeat, Starspangledbanner is retaining his aura, at least in the eyes of trainer Aidan O'Brien. At The Races says: 'Aidan O'Brien remained upbeat about Starspangledbanner after the crack sprinter got going too late to catch Sole Power in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York. The ex-Australian star was sent off the 6-4 favourite but came up a length and a quarter short behind the 100-1 winner. "He ran a great race and we have no complaints," said the Ballydoyle handler...Johnny (Murtagh) said he would have loved to have been drawn near the middle, but he's a very classy horse...He was drawn out wide and it's a long, lonely furrow to go and plough on your own. It didn't look like it was an advantage to be where we were, it would have been better to have been drawn near the middle....But those were the cards we were dealt and he was coming home hand over fist. He's a very fast horse, but he's won over a mile in Australia and gets a trip very well. He's also got an awful lot of speed."