MARTINO DOING A GREAT JOB WITH SYDNEY DISCARD

FABIO Martino had no regrets.

The Hawkesbury trainer could have taken All Star to town yesterday for a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1400m) at Royal Randwick, but chose to stay at home for a Midway Benchmark 68 Handicap at the same distance.

It worked out well with the beautifully bred four-year-old staging a last to first performance in leading home an all-provincial finish.

All Star (Jean Van Overmeire) justified his $2.80 favoritism tag in comfortably defeating fellow Hawkesbury trainer Jason Attard’s game Cryptonic ($4.80), who carried 2kg more, and Wyong trainer Allan Kehoe’s Prince Of Sorts ($3.30).

“I gave a lot of thought where to run All Star, especially as he had drawn poorly at Randwick,” Martino said today.

“The two horses I felt were the hardest to beat there were the winner (Barrengarry) and third placegetter (Felix Majestic).

“Even though there were a lot of scratchings from his race, my decision to stay at home was mainly to hopefully get another win with the horse and build his confidence.

“He did a good job, and is now ready to go back to town.”

Martino has another Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap – but at 1600m this time – at Randwick on Saturday week in mind for All Star’s return to city racing.

He says he was able to have a good look at All Star in the tie-up stalls before yesterday’s race, and noted that he was a “grown horse”.

“It has taken time for him to mature, and he’s not a baby anymore,” he said.

Martino, who clinched his 21st career success with stablemate Spartus at Warwick Farm last Wednesday, deserves plenty of credit for the job he has done with All Star, a son of super sire I Am Invincible.

All Star fetched a cool $1.2m as an Inglis Australian Easter yearling in 2024, but was “sacked” after finishing sixth, fourth and 10th at three unplaced starts in town as a two-year-old.

He was put on the market online in May last year, and Martino’s major client Spartus Bloodstock (involved in the horse from the start) decided, along with the trainer’s father Paolo, to buy him outright for $60,000.

Martino has now three provincial races with All Star – and a city breakthrough is seemingly not far away.

“All Star is still a stallion, but he’s a gentleman and a pleasure to train,” he said.

Martino is eyeing another city assignment soon for Spartus, who has come through his Warwick Farm triumph well.

Kembla Grange trainer Anthony Mountney made another country trip, this time to Gundagai, with five-year-old mare Bedda Mia today – and it paid off.

Ridden by apprentice Rebecca Bronett Prag, Bedda Mia ($3.80) defeated $3.60 co-favorites Iroquai and Jungle Lights in the Class 1 Handicap (1180m).

Mountney had previously unsuccessfully taken Bedda Mia to the Forbes Cup meeting on August 2, where she finished eighth in a stronger Class 2 Handicap (1100m).

Bronett Prag also rode the mare at her only previous win, on the synthetic track at Canberra over 1080m in May. STORY BY JOHN CURTIS, SEPTEMBER 6, 2026. PIC BRADLEY PHOTOS.