Reportedly start race for cereal (4)
I believe the answer is:
sago
'for cereal' is the definition.
(edible starch)
'reportedly start race' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'start' could be 'go' (synonyms) and 'go' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sago that I've seen before include "Palm cereal" , "Starchy cereal used in puddings" , "Starchy foodstuff" , "dessert?" , "Powdery starch used in cooking" .)