 Born in January, 1974, in Germany, Starke was early into the winner's circle as an amateur at the age of 15 at the tiny racetrack of Grossenkneten.
He rose quickly up the professional ranks of jockeys in his country and gained his first Group win in 1995 in the Premio Federico Tesio in Milan.
1996 saw him post an impressive 111 winners and Groups 1 winners have rolled in
with his appointment as stable jockey to the powerful Andreas Schutz stable.
Since then he has topped his country's rankings through a mixture of hard work and
strict dieting with daily 6 miles morning runs to keep his weight at 54.5 kgs.
Andrasch already has experience of the Arc de Triomphe having come 5th on Caitano in 1998 and unplaced on Samum (pictured).
Before that, Samum and Andrasch had been unbeaten with 6 victories including the German Derby and the Grosser Preis von Baden.
In early 2002, Starke was banned by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 6 months for taking prohibited substances. Twelve months earlier, he had been banned for 1 month by the same instiution for riding whilst under the influence of alcohol, the first jockey in Hong Kong to ever be caught for this.
Article kindly lent by France.Galop.com
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