By Sean Cronin
Godolphin's €700,000 Arqana August graduate Quest For Stars (Sea The Stars) backed up victories at Doncaster and Sandown last month and provided Charlie Appleby with a fourth renewal of Wednesday's Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Stonehenge Stakes when digging deep at the business end of the one-mile Salisbury feature.
He also becomes a breakthrough stakes winner for rider Connor Planas.
“He was an outsider when he broke his maiden and followed it up at Sandown and he's gone and done the same again,” said Charlie Appleby. “He's not a horse that excites you too much at home, but you can't fault what he's done on the track. He's tough, he stays well and this race is a win and you're in for the [G1] Golden Fleece. It's a race we'll very much look towards and see how he comes out of this and go from there. I'm very pleased for him to go and win the race like that and very pleased for Connor. He's done a lot of work with him and knows him, so it's a good team effort.”
Planas added, “I had my first winner here as an apprentice and, to come back here and have my first stakes winner, I can't thank Charlie enough for keeping me on him. Twelve months ago I was close to hanging my boots up, I was struggling to get rides and I bumped into Kieren Fallon and he said 'come and ride out for Charlie, get a good wage and you never know he might stick you up'. I had my first ride for him at Kempton on [TDN Rising Star] Palladas [in January] and he went and won. He kept supporting me from there, I haven't really looked back since and, without Charlie, I wouldn't be here.”
Quest For Stars went forward from the outside stall to lead through halfway in this black-type debut. Nudged along with three furlongs remaining, the 11-4 second favourite was headed by Scommessa Sicura (Cracksman) approaching the furlong pole and rallied gamely under a late drive to regain a neck advantage from that rival in the dying strides.
Quest For Stars is the lone reported foal produced by Listed Grand Criterium de Bordeaux victrix Singforthemoment (No Nay Never), herself a full-sister to Listed National Stakes runner-up Jm Jackson.
Jm Jackson, in turn, is the dam of G1 Haydock Sprint Cup hero and G1 July Cup second Big Mojo (Mohaather), while the winner's second dam Kawn (Cadeaux Genereux) is kin to three black-type performers headed by G1 Lockinge Stakes runner-up and dual Group-winning sire Trans Island (Selkirk).
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700,000gns buy Quest For Stars (Sea The Stars) gamely retains his unbeaten record in the Listed Stonehenge Stakes 🔵 pic.twitter.com/xS3iQeTuVn
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 12, 2026
Wednesday, Salisbury, Britain
BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF STONEHENGE STAKES-Listed, £55,000, Salisbury, 8-12, 2yo, 8fT, 1:43.85, g/f.
1–QUEST FOR STARS (FR), 129, c, 2, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Singforthemoment (Ire) (SW-Fr), by No Nay Never
2nd Dam: Kawn (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
3rd Dam: Khubza (GB), by Green Desert
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€700,000 Ylg '25 ARAUG). O-Godolphin; B-Ind. N. Singforthemoment 2024; T-Charlie Appleby; J-Connor Planas. £31,191. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $85,966.
2–Scommessa Sicura (Ire), 124, f, 2, Cracksman (GB)–Pure Art (GB), by Dutch Art (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (€88,000 Wlg '24 GOFNOF; 100,000gns Ylg '25 TATOCT). O-Mr James & Opulence Thoroughbreds; B-Tullpark Ltd; T-Andrew Balding. £11,825.
3–Rocket Boy (Ire), 129, c, 2, Soldier's Call (GB)–Sharedah (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (33,000gns Wlg '24 TADEWE; 65,000gns Ylg '25 TATOCT). O-Scuderia La Tesa Ltd; B-Belmont & Glenville Bloodstock Ltd; T-Marco Botti. £5,918.
Margins: NK, HF, 6HF. Odds: 2.75, 0.73, 14.00.
Also Ran: Velociraptor (GB), My A'Ali Baba (GB), Firehorse (Ire). Scratched: Dandyman Dan (Ire), Rafe's Da Man (GB).
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