Brilliant Stars lands another Grade 1 After his stunning late late show under Ruby Walsh in today's Grade 1 Grand Prix d'Automne at Auteuil, trainer Willie Mullins kept it French with his tweet: "Merci à tout le monde pour vos messages pour la victoire #ThousandStars, un vrai spécialiste d'Auteuil." Now an eleven-year-old, Thousand Stars cemented his legendary status at Auteuil, a venue where he took the Grande Course de Haies in 2011 and 2012. He was second in the race last June and Mullins tuned up his charge with a couple of runs at Merano and Tipperary, where he was fifth in a Grade 2 contest over two miles. Thousand Stars (fifth win at Auteuil and 3rd at highest level) denied Lizzie Kelly and Aubusson a first Grade 1 win in a blanket finish as three of the contenders had their head in front over the closing few strides. The judge took several minutes to separate the finishers, eventually giving Thousand Stars the verdict by a nose.
