Sirius Pursuit

MyRacehorse teamed up with trainer Jena Antonucci at the 2024 Keeneland September Sale to select and secure Seeking a Star ‘23, a powerful and precocious-looking filly who is the first offspring sired by the brilliant Horse of the Year Knicks Go.

Consigned to the auction as hip 1385, the Jan. 13 foal possesses a deep hip, tons of substance, good bone, and an absolute march of a walk. She has the presence and demeanor to indicate that she should be an early bloomer.

Knicks Go was precocious himself, running away with the 2018 G1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity. He did his best running at four and five, however, annexing the 2020 G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and reeling off convincing victories in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, G1 Whitney S. and G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2021 en route to Horse of the Year honors. Seeking the Star ‘23 was Knicks Go’s most-expensive yearling filly to sell in 2024 (through Keeneland September).

The filly’s dam was an $800,000 September yearling herself by the late Pioneerof the Nile, perhaps best known as the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Pioneerof the Nile is the broodmare sire of five graded stakes winner thus far–including G1SWs A Mo Reay and Speed Boat Beach–with undoubtedly more to come.

Seeking a Star ‘23 is her dam’s second foal, and her 2-year-old half-sister Paula’s a Star was third on debut in New York earlier this year. A half-sister to the dam was a Saratoga stakes winner at two. This is the female family of speedy multiple Grade 1-winning millionaires Paulassilverlining and Dads Caps.

The filly has already begun her pre-training lessons at GoldMark Farm in Ocala, Florida under the direction of Antonucci and her business partner Katie Miranda. That team is of course best known for the exploits of 2023 champion 3-year-old Arcangelo, and scored another Saratoga stakes win this June when homebred Whatintheliteral upset the Astoria S. for juvenile fillies.