The Belles Keep Ringing after 75 Years

The Informant reports:

The recent Gr. 1 Tarzino Trophy and Gr. 2 Foxbridge Plate victories by Melody Belle brought a timely reminder - if one were necessary - of the ongoing successes of those superb older New Zealand families like those from Eulogy and the Belle Fox lines.

If we track back in time we find this branch of the No. 18 family was in Australia two centuries ago through Manto and her granddaughter Flora McIvor was in New Zealand in 1854, brought here to Nelson by the pioneering Henry Redwood.

Flora McIvor is said to be the first mare from the General (English) Stud Book to be imported to this country, but even so there may be a veil of mystery as to whether this is so. It is recorded that she was foaled in 1828, but either Redwood was sold a ‘ring-in' in Australia or, more probably, the foaling date is incorrect, perhaps by as much as seven or eight years.

Her first foal in Australia was in 1839 when she would have been 11 years old and she foaled in New Zealand in 1854, 1855 and 1857 and those dates are much more likely to be correct than a mare foaling at 29, 27 and 26 years of age.

Not that it matters one bit now, as whatever its antecedents the line prospered here from the start and Flora McIvor's two New Zealand-bred daughters, Io and Waimea, and the Australian-bred Emma, who came here too, all established thriving lines. Such stars as Trenton (sire of Gainsborough's second dam), Nightmarch, Polo Prince, Van der Hum, Rustler, Timon and many more are descendants.

Good family that it had already proven to be, it did not come into its own in more modern times until Foxbridge covered Belle Star, the first of the ‘Belles', descended from Emma, the year prior to the outbreak of World War ll. Foxbridge, although he won but one race, was a fair racehorse, winning the Liverpool Atlantic Cup, a decent race in that era. He was by the Ascot Gold Cup winner Foxlaw, who died young leaving behind two winners of that supreme test of the stayer.

Foxbridge's granddam was by Carbine's son Spearmint (Derby) out of a full sister to the peerless Pretty Polly, so he had the full credentials for sire success. At Cambridge's Trelawney Stud he proved sensational, becoming champion New Zealand sire in 11 consecutive seasons to 1950-51, while his daughters hoisted him to 11 champion broodmare sire titles as well. Alongside fellow stallion greats Sir Tristram, Zabeel and O'Reilly, he has been immortalised with induction to the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.

The 1939 foal was Belle Fox and she and the family became synonymous with James and Annie Sarten, and later with their daughter Marie Leicester. Jim, Annie and Marie (the breeder of Melody Belle) all enjoyed extensive success through the succeeding years, and I recall meeting the Sartens towards the end of the 1970s and helping them find a name for one of their fillies.

When I first settled in this country, back in 1974, there were four female families on everyone's lips -namely Eulogy, Dulcie, Volifox and the Belles. And it was the latter tribe descending immediately from Belle Fox which was regularly thrust to the fore. Then memories were scarcely dim of that great racemare and champion three-year-old Star Belle, whilst Asgard was keeping things very current across the Tasman.

Being used to seeing the rather finer lighter boned quality thoroughbreds of England and France, the thing that struck me about the Belles was the fact that, although the line had been in Australasia for two centuries, they somehow seemed to have retained that same fineness and quality to a greater degree than had almost all their contemporaries. This might have been explainable if the family was like me ‘fresh off the boat' as it were, but no - this was a family that had been in New Zealand for 150 years.

This branch of the family must be a strong one, for descendants of Belle Fox have been regularly collecting black type for nigh on 75 years and deserve a book all of their own. What's more, there has been something of a resurgence of the Belles lately, which in itself is worthy of remark given the progressive dominance of recently sourced imported bloodlines to the detriment of proven New Zealand and Australian female lines.

The Sarten family were able to use the major leading sires of their time, and it is that as much as anything that has contributed to the family success. For instance in the case of the Iffraaj mare Meleka Belle who produced Melody Belle to Commands, the sires down the damline are successively Sir Tristram, Sovereign Edition, Better Honey, Summertime and Foxbridge - champion sires all.

Belle Star carried three male fifth-remove strains of St. Simon, and this became balanced 5 x 5 in Belle Fox with the addition of Foxbridge, who is himself also inbred to two daughters 3 x 4 to Gallinule and balanced 4 x 5/5 to Isonomy.   Not a bad base to work from.

Belle Fox's descendants through her daughters Belle Time (Summertime) and Belle Rosa (Instinct) number more than 3,400 foals, with more than 60 per cent of the runners becoming winners. Of these 105 are stakes winners all over the world including the British Isles, South Africa, USA, Japan, South-east Asia and Australia, with a further 91 stakes placed.

The 61 Group winners include 22 at Group One: Grand Armee (7 x G1 inc. AJC Queen Elizabeth S. twice, Doncaster H., George Main S., VRC L.K.S. Mackinnon S.), Dance Hero (4 x G1 inc. Sydney juvenile Triple Crown), Belle du Jour (STC Golden Slipper S., VRC Newmarket H.), Star Belle (Great Northern Derby), Wonder Dancer (VRC Sires' Produce S., WATC Australian Derby), Sharscay (Canterbury Guineas, VATC Underwood S.), Aerosmith (Waikato International S., Wellington Cup), Eskimo Queen (Queensland Oaks, STC Coolmore Classic), Wylie Hall (South African Derby), Supreme Court (ARC Railway H.), Honey Belle, Asgard, Casey Belle, Drum [Aus.], Lord Ted, Absolute Champion [HK], Perfectly Ready, Anamato, Dealer Principal, Rock Kingdom, Plucky Belle and most recently Melody Belle, the second Group winner of that name from the family.

They sprint and they stay and only one of the elite winners is inbred, that being Australasian Oaks victress Anamato, who is balanced 4 x 3 to Nijinsky. Almost all might be considered virtual outcrosses at five removes and only Redoute's Choice and Marauding have sired two elite winners from the Belle Fox line. It seems to be a feature that this superb female family combines with many different sires.

Other notable family members include Hasselhoof, champion two-year-old Flying Babe and New Zealand Filly of the Year Tri Belle. One thing is certain - there will be many more.

Fact file

Belle Fox descendants:

150 SW

22 G1