It’ll take a big heart to be the All-Star champ

By Bexley Martin

The votes have been finalised and Heart of Puissance will run in the All-Star Mile, placing in ninth position of the ten chances in the draw.
A small syndicated share of the three-year old chestnut colt is owned by the Bungaree Football Club members as a fundraiser for the club and, will now be part of the big race to take place this Saturday at Caulfield Racecourse.
The event has been tagged as the only horse race of its kind, in that all horses nominated were then selected by public votes. Heart of Puissance polled 5,212 votes, with number one rank held by Alligator Blood, a three-year old gelding who polled a whopping 18,502 votes.
Heart of Puissance is trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace in Ballarat, has made good impressions in a career of only four starts, winning his first two.
Race day will also see each horse represented by an Ambassador who was selected from the public vote count; Carl Haseloff from Ballarat is that one lucky ambassador for Heart of Puissance.
The event also acts as a fundraiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital after Racing Victoria naming the Good Friday Appeal as being the charity partner of the All-Star Mile, while it also sent funds to the bushfire victims in Victoria.
The All-Star Mile began as a dream in 2018, with its inaugural program being staged at the Flemington racecourse last year.
The $5 million event will be rotated annually across three of Melbourne’s finest racecourses in Flemington, Moonee Valley and Caulfield.
With a winner’s cheque for $2.25m and an overall prize purse of $5m, it is officially the richest mile race in the world, and the favourite according to all at Bungaree, is Heart of Puissance.
This year’s race will be staged at 5.10pm on Saturday, March 14.