Star Witness, the 2010 Blue Diamond winner booked to join the awesome young ‘colonial’ sire strength at the Widden stud, traces back on the bottom line of his pedigree to Judith (tenth dam), a three-quarter sister to notable siblings Left, Dominant and Lovelock.

One of these mares, Left, provided three half-brothers who competed formidably in Melbourne Cups, namely Wotan (won the Cup in 1936), Gaine Carrington (in 1933 won the Caulfield Cup and dead heated for third in the Melbourne Cup) and Peter Jackson (dual St Leger winner New Zealand and fifth and seventh in the Melbourne Cup,1932 and 1933).

The greatest racehorse in the family, however, was Beau Vite, a grandson of Left’s sister Dominant.This son of Beau Pere competed 57 times, appearing in New Zealand and Australia for 30 wins, including the Auckland Cup, GN Derby and St Leger, W.S. Cox Plate – twice, AJC Metropolitan, L.K.S, Mackinnon Stakes and Tattersall’s Chelmsford Stakes.

He finished third under 61.5kg in the 1941 Melbourne Cup won by his then 3-year-old cousin Skipton, a grandson of Lovelock. Skipton also won the Victoria Derby and in 1943 was successful in one of two divisions of the Caulfield Cup run that year.

Much closer to home, Star Witness’s breeding includes inbreeding 4x5x5 to Northern Dancer and a 4x5 to Battle-Waggon, the New Zealand importation whose long list of good horses included the great Battle Heights. A son of the Nasrullah English Derby winner Never Say Die, Battle-Waggon was bred by the English National Stud and raced by The Queen.

Bred and raised on the Ken ‘Tubby’ Turner directed Alma Vale stud at Greenmount near Toowoomba, Star Witness has a powerful immediate pedigree blending superior speed and middle distance ability. He is from the first crop of the Arrowfield stud based Australian and international champion Starcraft (by the Nureyev champion European sprinter Soviet Star) and out of the good sprinter Leone Chiara.

Also bred at Alma Vale, Leone Chiara is by one of the most brilliant Danehill racing and sire sons in the Tubby Turner trained Lion Hunter and is a sister to dashing performers Chinchilla Rose and emerging sire Ferocity.

They from Chiara, a Last Tycoon 2-year-old winner out of Etoile D’Or, a winner of nine races to 1600m in New Zealand, including two Group 3s, and third in the New Zealand Oaks.

Etoile D’Or was by the American bred New Zealand used sire Diplomatic Star, a product of the very fast Star Kingdom filly Ritmar, a winner of three races at two including the then open age Lightning Stakes at Flemington. Ritmar became a good broodmare in America.

Star Witness has raced nine times to date for eight cheques, including four wins, and $1,182,200.

He challenged as the best juvenile of 2009-10, a year he won his first three outings, succeeding at Moonee Valley (1000m) on debut and then taking the Talindert-LR (1100m) by 1.5 lengths at Flemington and the Blue Diamond-Gr.1 (1200m) at Caulfield.

At three, he recorded his second Group1 victory at 1200m when he backed up on Derby day at Flemington in the spring from a close second to Hay List in a hot track gallop to annex the Coolmore Stud Stakes – traditionally the Ascot Vale, by two lengths ‘with a sheer display of power.’

His other appearance at three have resulted in a second to Black Caviar in Melbourne’s top spring sprint, the Patinack Classic-Gr.1 (1200m), thirds in the MRC Vain Stakes-LR (1100m) and MRC Manfred Stakes-LR (1300m) and a fourth in the MRC Schillaci Stakes-Gr.2 (1000m).

The outing in the Manfred, a race in which he was a $1.80 favourite, was at Sandown Park on February 9 and was his first for three months.

It set the Danny O’Brien (Flemington) trained Star Witness up for a tilt at major autumn races in Melbourne and Sydney. He is booked to tackle Black Caviar and Hay List in the Newmarket at  Flemington on Saturday week and is also entered in the Doncaster.