Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Line The Starzzz is developing into one of the State’s best trotters, even though she is by former world champion pacer Four Starzzz Shark, and her maternal line traces back to quality West Australian pacers Backin A Jiffy and Backina Falcon.
But breeder and owner Terry Ferguson is not complaining, with Line The Starzzz taking her record to 48 starts for eleven wins, 19 placings and stakes of $100,466 when she scored an impressive victory in the 2503m Beau Rivage Trot at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Ferguson purchased American pacing broodmare Walkin The Line 25 years ago with ambitions of her producing talented pacers to race in Western Australia.
Walkin The Line was in foal to American pacer and $1.2 million earner Village Jiffy when she arrived from America. The foal was Backin A Jiffy, who had 50 starts as a pacer for Ferguson for ten wins, 17 placings and $107,333 in prizemoney.
Walkin The Line’s second foal was Backina Falcon, who raced as a pacer for Ferguson and was retired after 73 starts for 19 wins, 15 placings and $149,385, with his second placing to Baltic Eagle in the WA Pacing Cup in January 2003 the highlight of his career.
Walkin The Line’s next foals were pacers Backina Vision (three wins), Backina Dream (ten wins) and So Not Walkin (seven wins) before her next two foals could not pace and raced as trotters, with Life On The Line winning three wins from 19 starts and Backina Lifetime having 75 starts for 13 wins, 17 placings and $70,053.
To further confuse things Life On the Line’s first foal was a pacer named Paint the Wind, who raced 109 times for 12 wins, 23 placings and $70,505. Her second foal Lifes Delight was by champion pacing sire Bettors Delight, and he raced as a trotter, earning $78,476 from seven wins and 22 placings.
Line The Starzz is the fourth foal out of Life On the Line, and she showed a touch of class on Friday night when her 2.5 rate was the fastest winning mile rate by a mare in a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park, lowering the 2.5.9 rate recorded by Luvaflair when she won by two lengths from Line The Starzz on October 12, 2021.
Line The Starzz was the third fancy at $4.50 on Friday night when she raced in third position in an Indian file affair for the first 1500m before Dylan Egerton-Green eased her off the pegs and into the breeze outside the pacemaker and $4.80 chance Sky Eagle. Line The Starzzz burst to the front 600m from home and won comfortably from the $2.70 favourite Posseidon, who trailed the leader for the final 1000m and fought on doggedly in the home straight.
“Line The Starzzz had leg issues as a three and four-year-old, but they’re all good now,” said Ferguson. “It was quite funny after the race when Dylan said to me that he thought that the mare was going that fast when he pulled her out that he had to look down to make sure that she wasn’t pacing.”
Four Starzzz Shark, a winner of 25 races and $2,537,267, certainly has proved his worth as the sire of the square gaiter Line The Starzzz, but he will always be better remembered in Australia as the sire of champion pacers Lennytheshark, Frith, Molly Kelly and Jilliby Kung Fu.