Racing
Stars light up the night
Earendel super first-up.
Lightly raced five-year-old gelding Earendel snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Launceston on Wednesday night.
Heavily supported from $3.50 on race morning to start the $2.20 favourite, Earendel came from last in the field of seven at the 400m mark to pick up The Longest Yard ($5) right on the winning post in the class 4 (1400m).
The win marked the fifth victory in just seven career starts for the gelded son of Needs Further and Alzahra Star, with the first-up performance indicating he is well on track for his main goal, the Ladbrokes Devonport Cup on 7 January 2026.
"He came from last with the rail out and 59 (kilograms) on his back, it's a really, really good run," remarked trainer Barry Campbell after the race.
Apprentice jockey Chloe Wells signalled her intention pre-race to have Earendel race up on the speed, but when the horse was slightly slow away, she quickly had to pivot to a back-up plan.
"I said go forward, it's on pace tonight, and then he settled last," said Campbell with a laugh.
"It took a couple of runs to hit his top last prep, and I think he'll improve on tonight, too.
"I wanted to give him four or five runs leading into the Devonport Cup, so we started him a bit earlier than we thought we would have, but by god, he was good."
Campbell immediately notched a race-to-race double with the Star Thoroughbred colours when Night Invader ($4.60) came from midfield on the home turn to win going away in a BM60 (1600m).
On the season, Campbell now has 14 winners from just 38 starters with a 36.8% winning strike rate.
Veterans double up
Campbell shared training honours on the eight-event program with fellow Hall of Famer Graeme Mcculloch, who had a double of his own.
Kelvin Sanderson delivered the ride of the night aboard Halen ($11) for McCulloch to win a class 1 (1400m), while later in the evening, Stars In The Night ($6.50) led all the way in a BM60 (1200m).
It was a full-circle moment for apprentice Jabez Johnstone, as Stars in the Night was responsible for his first career winner almost 11 months ago.
"This was Jabez's first winner on this little mare, so it holds a bit of sentiment for him," said McCulloch.
"She did a good job as a second run back from a bit of a break and just improved a bit from her first-up run."
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