I Am A Star has produced a perfectly-timed sprint to take out the Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) from a fast-finishing Leotie at Caulfield Racecourse this afternoon.

Jumping from the gates well, jockey Steven King elected to take a position off the pace of early leaders Athena Lass, Modern Wonder and She’s Positive, who all flew the gates and set a reasonable pace from the outset.

Rounding onto the final straight wide and with plenty to do, the I Am Invincible filly mustered a huge turn of foot with 200m to run; pulling alongside the race leaders and clear before hitting the line a head in the green of Leotie; Athena Lass boxing on for third.

King delivered a smart ride on I Am A Star in the Quezette Stakes and believes the filly is a serious three-year-old contender for major targets this spring.

“She’s a really nice filly this,” King said.

“Even as a two-year-old she was very sensible and she’s come back in really good.

“It was a really good win today because I was probably three or four lengths further back than where I wanted to be but she’s got a great will to win and is really mature in her head.

“We came into this race today and drew and awkward barrier, and I really think that was the only question mark.

“We didn’t do a lot with her in the trials so we knew there was a lot of upside with her.

“We got back, gave her a chance and she hit the line strong.

“When you get fillies like this, that take you a long way.”

Trainer Shane Nichols was thrilled with I Am A Star’s performance for success in the Quezette Stakes and revealed she will progress to the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) in three weeks before a likely run in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m).

“She’s certainly a winner,” Nichols said after the race.

“I thought halfway down the straight she was going to run a nice race, but gee she found the line.

“I said to Steve that if he could balance up and hit the line, some of these might be a little soft late.

“If I’d have drawn 5 I probably would have been toey and nervous and thinking about what could possibly be. When we drew 16 it took all the pressure off – I thought we can ride her conservatively.

“I’ve always said we’ll get to the 1400m lead-up to the Thousand Guineas and we’ll take it from there.

“Steve is fairly adamant she’ll run a mile, but let’s not get ahead of herselves. She’s going well, so who knows, we might get to loftier ambitions.”

Punters who backed I Am A Star to win the 2016 Quezette Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au have been paid out on $7 odds!

2016 Quezette Stakes Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	4	I AM A STAR (NZ)	Shane Nichols	Steven King	–	13	56.5kg	$6.50
2	15	LEOTIE	Henry Dwyer	Chris Parnham	0.2L	11	55kg	$11
3	14	ATHENA LASS	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Cory Parish	0.3L	2	55kg	$10
4	9	NAJMAAT	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Mark Zahra	1.55L	7	55kg	$20
5	2	SWORD OF LIGHT	Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra	Damian Lane	2.05L	1	57.5kg	$8
6	6	SELENIA	Robbie Griffiths	Jye McNeil (a)	2.15L	8	56.5kg	$17
7	3	SHE’S POSITIVE	Tony Noonan	Steven Arnold	2.65L	6	56.5kg	$51
8	11	MERRIEST	Danny O’Brien	Damien Oliver	3.05L	10	55kg	$12
9	5	HOT DIPPED	Brendan Mcshane	Dwayne Dunn	4.3L	9	56.5kg	$11
10	13	CONSCIOUS	Leon & Troy Corstens	Stephen Baster	5.3L	5	55kg	$8.50
11	16	MISS SALINGER	Peter Morgan & Craig Widdison	Ms Linda Meech	6.05L	3	55kg	$31
12	1	CONCEALER	Tony McEvoy	Craig Williams	6.8L	12	57.5kg	$9.50
13	7	MODERN WONDER	Leon & Troy Corstens	Daniel Moor	11.05L	4	56.5kg	$5.50F