Aggressive tactics key as Stardom lands Winston ‘Fanna’ Griffiths OD Classic

TRAINER Gary Subratie said tactical changes were the key factor behind Stardom’s dramatic win in the $3.75-million Winston “Fanna” Griffiths OD Classic at Caymanas Park on Sunday, September 30, 2026. After a failed Classic campaign in which Stardom finished second in the 2000 Guineas and unplaced efforts both in the Jamaica St leger and Derby, Subratie told jockey Dane Dawkins to be aggressive early — and it paid off. Ridden to perfection by Dawkins, Stardom held off a fast-finishing I Love Birdie (Reyan Lewis) by three-quarters of a length to take the Graded Stakes for native-bred three-year-olds over 9½ furlongs (1,900m) in 2:04.2. Splits were 25.3 x 50.1 x 1:15.3 x 1:43.4. Tia Maria (Tajay Suckoo) was third. Stardom settled in third into the clubhouse turn, tracking Eye of the Tiger (Abigail Able) and Tia Maria. Dawkins bided his time down the backstretch before asking the colt to go approaching the distance. Stardom swept to the front full of running and opened up in deep stretch. He began to shorten inside the final furlong, but had built enough of a buffer to hold I Love Birdie’s late surge. “I always wanted this horse to get going early and he keeps lacking back a little, and then Dane kind of fell asleep on him,” Subratie said in a post-race interview. “So I told him, ‘If you don’t lead going into the first turn you should be second or third.’ That was how aggressive I wanted him to come out of the gates. Get him rolling, give him a breather on the backstretch, and when you’re ready, ride your race from there. But for the first two furlongs it’s my ride,” he added. Subratie reflected on the Classic losses. “Dane made his mistakes in the Guineas. He should have won the Guineas. I mean, I won the Guineas with Salute The Don, but I’m happy for that. But Dane gave him [Stardom] too much to do. “And something went wrong in the St Leger and we never corrected it in time for the Derby. But I came a little bit more aggressive with him today and I think it worked out for us,” Subratie explained.