Trainer hoping Star of Salisbury’s Dubbo run is worth the wait

He’s a little known five-year-old who has had only one start way back in the winter of 2023, but if good things come to those who wait, Monday’s Dubbo meeting may prove a long-awaited stepping stone.

Well-bred Star Of Salisbury finally resumes his career long after an eye-catching debut at Bathurst 16 months ago when he rushed home late into a place at big odds, despite covering plenty of ground and copping interference in the run.

Leading Dubbo trainer Michael Mulholland has pinpointed this very winnable Maiden Plate over 1000m, 17 days after a solid trial at Orange over the same trip.

By lightly raced Group 3 winner Needs Further and out of a mare by Irish champion Teofilo, Star Of Sainsbury is primed to remind everyone of what he is capable of.

With problems quickly setting in after last year’s debut run, he was handed a veterinary ban and subsequent suspension by NSW stewards that wasn’t lifted until four weeks from Xmas.

It sent Mulholland and the gelding’s lone owner back to the drawing board, and it has been a long and frustrating grind to get him back ready to race.

But that day has arrived, and from a handy trailing draw with 1.5kg claimer Shayleigh Ingelse aboard, Star Of Salisbury can return with a bang before being set for better races.

And he could well be the first part of a home double strike for the Mulholland stable, with in-form six-year-old Epic Poem chasing a third straight win in a very competitive BM 66 Hcp over a mile.