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Has any sire had a more rollercoaster career than Starspangledbanner, the former stud flop now firing bullets big time for Victoria's Rosemont Stud.

Starspangledbanner, a son of Choisir who retired to Coolmore Stud amid much fanfare in 2011, sired his second G1 winner in the UK when the Jessica Harrington-trained 2YO filly Millisle won the coveted Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket

Millisle joins the ill-fated The Wow Signal as Starspangledbanner's second G1 winner, another boost for the faith Rosemont Stud had in the stallion when he joined their roster after being al but shunned as a commercial sire after he was deemed to be sub fertile.

Starspangledbanner went to stud after a brilliant racing career in Australia and Europe which netted six wins in 16 starts including four G1 wins in the Caulfield Guineas and Oakleigh Plate in Melbourne and the Golden Jubilee and July Cup in the UK. He amassed $2,198,503 prize money.

Starspangledbanner began his stud career with Coolmore in Ireland in 2011 and stood at Coolmore Australia for the first time that same year.

Despite covering large numbers in both hemispheres his early crops netted only 58 live foals. His fertility issues saw him briefly return to training in 2012, having been all but written off as a commercial stallion until nine of his first 51 foals to race became stakeswinners.

Rosemount Stud's Anthony Mithen acquired a five percent share in Starspangledbaner for a reported $1 million in 2011 but then endured the stallion's downturn.

With his fertility problems common knowledge, Starspangledbanner covered only 22 mares in Ireland in 2012 before he returned to racing but failed to win in six starts.

At that point it was proposed that he be gelded but Mithen presented an alternative proposal to take him to Australia to stand at Rosemont Stud in the hope that he could overcome his fertility issues.

Coolmore agreed and in his first season at Rosemont in 2013 Starspangledbanner succeeded in getting 24 mares in foal, nothing special but a sign that he may have a stud future.

Breeder interest in Starspangledbanner took off in 2014 after his first runners hit the track with 21 winners from his first 33 foals.

His first Irish products saw his first three runners all win and they included the top shelf pair The Wow Signal and Anthem Alexander.

The Wow Signal won the G2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville and Anthem Alexander won the G2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and finsiehd second in the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes.

That small first crop included the G3 winner Home Of The Brave while his second European crop of just 11 foals delivered six winners.

Starspangledbanner remained at Rosemont Stud in Australia in 2013 and 2014 before a bout of colic in late 2014 prevented him from resuming shuttle duties in Ireland.

In 2015 Starspangledbanner was still regarded as sub fertile as he was getting only 50% of his mares in foal – he got 16 mares in foal to Northern Hemisphere time and 46 mares in foal to Southern Hemisphere time – but it all turned for the better when he returned to Tipperary for the 2016 breeding season.

Almost overnight and while restricted to only two coverings per day, Starspangledbanner finished that season with 91 mares in foal, almost without precedent for a stallion with a history of fertility problems. Those mares produced his biggest crop to date of 73 foals in 2017 and they now include 15 winners led by Millisle.

Starspangledbanner's covered 123 mares at Coolmore in Ireland in 2017, 152 in 2018 and 168 this year while his books at Rosemount are restricted to around 100 mares.

He is now credited with 91 winners worldwide from 165 starters including 11 stakeswinners. In Australia he has had 44 winners of 79 races from just 73 runners.

Millisle (Starspangledbanner x Green Castle by Indian Ridge) has now won three of her five starts.

She is one of nine winners out of Green Castle, including the Listed winner Ithoughtitwasover (Hurricane Run) and Greenisland (Fasliyev), dam of the Listed winner Shamshon (Invincible Spirit).

Green Castle is a daughter of the Listed winner and G1-placed Green Lucia (Green Dancer).