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Pop Star stays on well in the closing stages to finish an encouraging fourth at Hamilton | Raceday Highlights

19 Jun 2025
Pop Star returned to the scene of his recent second place finish on Wednesday as he made the long trip from Newmarket all the way up to Hamilton.

Our five-year-old sprinter was up against it from the start this time round, being drawn widest of all in stall one, which meant he'd likely have to come down the middle of the track with next to no cover. As he broke away from the gates, he veered slightly to the right, which meant that jockey Kevin Stott had to get him organised and tucked into the rear of the field.

As they travelled through the opening couple of furlongs, Pop Star was struggling to keep up with the pace setters, and by half way he was around four to five lengths off the leader. At this point it looked as though Pop Star would struggle to get anywhere near the front pack, however, as they entered the final furlong, he began to stay on stronger than most and eventually came home in fourth place.

The three-length defeat may look like a disappointing effort on the face of the result, but it certainly wasn't without any positives. The fact that Pop Star stayed on so well in the closing stages after being strongly outpaced early on was really pleasing to see.

WATCH: Kevin Stott gives us his thoughts following Pop Star's run at Hamilton
CRC

We caught up with trainer Alice Haynes the morning after the race to see how Pop Star was getting on after another promising run, and this is what she had to say: 

"Hi guys, Pop Star is fine after yesterday's run at Hamilton.

He ran well from the widest draw, and I think if he had been drawn closer to the rail then he might have finished closer still.

It was another solid effort and we'll look for another similar opportunity in a couple of weeks' time."


Hopefully Pop Star can take another step forward on his next run wherever that might be and he can get in the winners' enclosure for the first time under the Coral Racing Club banner.

Check back soon to find out how you could be in attendance at his next race as one of Pop Star's Owners for the Day!
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