Multiple Louisiana champion has 11 juvenile winners and three stakes winners in 2017.

• By Eric Mitchell

A strong crop of 2-year-olds in 2017 prompted Evelyn Benoit’s Brittlyn Stable to raise the stud fee for homebred Star Guitar  to $7,500 for the 2018 breeding season.

The four-time Louisiana Horse of the Year and winner of 22 black-type stakes out of 30 starts has been represented this year by 11 juvenile winners from 21 starters. His top 2-year-olds include stakes winners Testing One Two, a daughter out of Yes Sir (Scat Daddy) who won the Louisiana Jewel Stakes, and Aceguitar, a colt out of Cherub Heart (Dehere) who won the Louisiana Cup Juvenile Stakes and finished second in the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity. Star Guitar also sired Givemeaminit, out of Powerful Nation (Turkoman), who finished third in the grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

“Star Guitar is certainly passing on his will to win that he demonstrated with his race record of 24 wins from 30 starts,” said Benoit, who has stood Star Guitar at Clear Creek Stud near Folsom, La., since he entered stud in 2013 at $4,000.

From two crops of racing age, Star Guitar sired 28 winners that have earned more than $1.3 million. He has a third black-type winner in Bermuda Star, who won or placed six times in eight starts as a 3-year-old. One of her wins includes the Equine Sales Oaks at Evangeline Downs. The filly out of Bermuda Bride (Runaway Groom) also placed in the Elge Rasberry Stakes and the Louisiana Legends Soiree Stakes.

Star Guitar is a 12-year-old son of Quiet American—Minit Towinit, by Malagra, and a half brother to black-type winners Favorite Minit and Grand Minit, who were all bred and initially raced by Brittlyn Stable.