The win by two-year-old Sheila's Star at Moonee Valley on Monday signalled a new beginning for co-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon who are rebuilding their team.Symons, who trained former star sprinter Bel Esprit and 2002 Thousand Guineas winner Macedon Lady, had the biggest disappointment of his career when the talented Daintree Duke died a year ago after haemorrhaging badly.Sheila's Star, by 2006 Oakleigh Plate winner Snitzel, is a half-sister to Daintree Duke who had won five of his seve

The win by two-year-old Sheila's Star at Moonee Valley on Monday signalled a new beginning for co-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon who are rebuilding their team.

Symons, who trained former star sprinter Bel Esprit and 2002 Thousand Guineas winner Macedon Lady, had the biggest disappointment of his career when the talented Daintree Duke died a year ago after haemorrhaging badly.

Sheila's Star, by 2006 Oakleigh Plate winner Snitzel, is a half-sister to Daintree Duke who had won five of his seven starts before his sudden death.

"He had a blood clot on the brain and we stayed up all night with him and tried to save him but he had lost consciousness and was just doing himself damage down on the ground and eventually we had to put him down," Symons said of Daintree Duke.

"Both Sheila and I thought he was the best horse we'd ever had and to lose a horse of that calibre, it takes a bit to get off the canvas I can tell you."

Symons said Sheila's Star, named after his partner and co-trainer who prepared 2001 Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal, was ahead of Daintree Duke at this stage of her career.

"She's sensible, she's come to hand really quickly and she's a mile in front of him as a two-year-old," he said.

"We always thought he was a nice horse but didn't rate him as a two-year-old.

"This filly has come out running and if she can improve like he did she could be really good.

"She's a really nice filly, she's a sister to Jacqueline Rouge as well and all the progeny of Northeast Sheila have taken time."

Ridden by Steven King, Sheila's Star ($11) finished strongly from fifth in the Tatts Group Hcp (1000m) to score by a long neck from Koonoomoo ($26) with Across The Moon ($5) 2-3/4 lengths away third.

Sheila's Star has won two of her three starts and will now be aimed towards the Listed Blue Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on May 1.

Meanwhile Luke Nolen, fresh from winning his sixth Group One race for the season on Typhoon Tracy in Saturday's Queen Of The Turf Stakes at Rosehill, landed his 50th Melbourne winner for 2009-10 aboard Excelltastic ($6) in the Rockshore Homes Hcp (1600m).

All of Nolen's Group One winners have been for the strong Peter Moody stable.

As a three-year-old, the Moody-trained Excelltastic was third to Sousa in the Group One Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick and won the Listed Adelaide Guineas (1800m) at Morphettville.

The four-year-old, who has now won six of his 22 starts, was Moody's 57th winner in Melbourne for the season and he leads the premiership race by 25 wins over Danny O'Brien and Mark Kavanagh.

Nolen, who like Moody is chasing his first premiership victory, is six wins clear of his nearest rival Damien Oliver (43-1/2).