NEWS AND UPDATES FOR FEBRUARY 2010

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KELLEWAY JOINS FORCES WITH AUSSIE BREAST CANCER CHARITY

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COURTESY OF THE RACING POST - 19TH FEBRUARY 2010

NEW STAR RACING CLUB
By David Milnes

Gay Kelleway is to become the first overseas trainer for Newstar Racing, a unique not-for-profit Australian-based club that donates it's prize money to former Test cricketer Glenn McGrath's breast cancer charity.

Newstar Racing, which has more than 1000 members, has proved an instant hit in Australia and has horses with top trainers including Gai Waterhouse, David Hayes and Paul Perry. The club was established a year ago by Australian racing personality Bryan Martin who decided to use the sport as an avenue to fight breast cancer after seeing his mother and grandmother battle the disease.

Now Martin is hoping to attract ex pat Australians who reside in Britain by taking Newstar Racing overseas and is to link up with Newmarket-based Kelleway.

To seal the association, one of Kelleway's owners, Andrew Christou, has agreed to lease to the club for a year a two year old colt - who has been named Newstar McGrath.

By Phoenix Reach, Newstar Mcgrath is progressing nicely and his trainer is hoping the colt could give - not for the first time - the Aussies something to shout about at Royal Ascot in June.

Kelleway said "I met Bryan Martin when I was out in Australia for the tennis this winter and he told me about the success of the Newstar Racing Club, and how he had thought about going global with it."

"I have spent time with Gai Waterhouse in the past and she was very enthusiastic about it."

She added: "It's a bit like the Elite Racing Club, and, as there are some estimated 200,000 Aussies in London alone, we hope it will attract some interest.

"It's very kind of Andrew Christou to lease the two-year old, who we are hoping will give us lots of fun as well as earning some prize-money for a very worthwhile cause."

The McGrath Foundation was co-founded in 2002 by McGrath and his wife Jane and her initial recovery from breast cancer. She died from the disease in 2008.

The foundation is dedicated to raising money to fund breastcare nurses in Australia and has raised more than AUS$12 million (about £6.8m)
Further information at www.newstarracingclub.com