KieranPackman

With Harbinger an absentee the racing world will be looking at the Aussie horse with the American name to light up York's Ebor meeting, but can he justify the hype? Kieran Packman sketches the scene [b]"Wins at Royal Ascot in the Golden Jubilee and then in Newmarket’s July Cup, resoundingly underlined Starspangledbanner’s status as one of the leading sprinters in the world. His current Timeform rating of 128 is bettered only by Sacred Kingdom (130) amongst the leading global sprinters."[/b] With Harbinger an absentee, leaving behind him a string of unanswered questions and unfulfilled hopes, the spotlight provided by York's Ebor meeting will now fall on sprint sensation Starspangledbanner, the 3.55 favourite for the Nunthorpe Stakes. Roots in Australia have been almost a pre-requisite...