Young colt to show his tan lines in Sunshine State

By Jordan Gerrans

Even before boom juvenile Showmethetanlines made it to the races in Australia, the team behind the promising colt had their eyes on the Sunshine State.

Unbeaten in two career starts, Kiwi-bred pacer Showmethetanlines is the first confirmed runner for the second edition of the feature The Protostar.

The Protostar will be held during the upcoming Queensland Constellations at Albion Park with $500,000 on offer in the two-year-old slot race event.

Showmethetanlines has been snapped up by the GSM Racing slot, which is headed by Albion Park Harness Racing Club chairman Greg Mitchell and his wife Sharon.

“We are excited to secure Showmethetanlines,” Greg Mitchell said.

“The horse has exceptional speed, is strong and that is what we are going to need in a race like this.

“Ian Barker, the owner, and Adam Kelly, the trainer, have been a pleasure to deal with.

"Sharon and I look forward to watching as the other runners are announced and the anticipation builds.”

The son of Downbytheseaside has only been at the races twice in his young career but he could not have been much more impressive so far.

He won at his debut at Addington before being purchased by the team of Barker and Kelly and shifting to the Victorian stable.

The imposing colt then led all the way in the $50,000 Group 3 Sapling Stakes at Menangle in March.

As the Kiwi youngster is not eligible for any rich sales series in Australia, the ownership group always had an eye on Queensland’s The Protostar following their purchase.

“When we bought the horse, Ian paid a bit of money for him obviously in the hope we would get to a race like this,” Kelly said.

“Because he is not eligible for anything over here, we did see this race and we thought it might be a chance if all things went to plan.”

Top reinswoman Kate Gath was in the bike behind Showmethetanlines in his one Australian start and was impressed with his fast mile rate of 1.52.2.

“I had to make him go 1.52 to win the race and he did,” Gath said.

“We’ll spell him for now as there’s not much on for him and he’s not eligible for many races.

“He’s got a bit of filling out to do. He’s obviously got a bit of a motor. He’s a big striding horse; he’s a pretty cool customer and takes everything in his stride.

“We’ll see how he comes back in and his future is bright. I think he will make a nice three-year-old.”

Kelly and Barker were keen on Showmethetanlines before he had ever made it to the races in New Zealand and the team were thrilled to see him back up those efforts on debut.

“He had a couple of trials and he caught our eye,” Kelly said.

“We wanted to see him do it at the races - as we know, trials and races are very different things.

“He was very impressive in his first start there so we thought we would buy him. It has been so far, so good with him.”

The second running of The Protostar will take place on Saturday night, July 12, 2025 as part of the Queensland Constellations and Inter Dominion.

The young colt will head north for the Group 3 Wayne Wilson Memorial Paleface Adios Classic the week before The Protostar.

“He can’t do much more than what he has done already,” Kelly said.

“After he won in Sydney, we gave him a month off and he did pretty well. He is probably a fortnight away from getting back to the trials.

“There are a few races here for him before we head up to Queensland.”

The Grant Dixon-trained and driven Fate Awaits claimed the inaugural The Protostar last year.