4 Win Saturday - Bellatrix Grp 2 Star

13 October, 2024

4 Win Saturday - Bellatrix Grp 2 Star


Notching a hat-trick of wins, Bellatrix Star (3 f Star Witness – Alana’s Party, by Exceed and Excel) stepped up in style with a grand performance in the A$300,000 Henley Homes Schillaci Stakes (Gr. 2, 1100m) on Saturday at Caulfield, Melbourne.

The Group 2 Eclipse Stakes winner over 1200m last season at Ellerslie as a two-year-old in New Zealand, Bellatrix Star had been taken along quietly in the sprinting stakes ranks in Victoria, having won the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes 1100m on 14 September at Flemington, and the Group 3 Scarborough Stakes 1200m on 27 September at Moonee Valley, before the ultimate test at weight-for-age in which she proved right up to the task.

Given a first-class ride by Craig Williams, who recorded his third win on the day, the race panned out perfectly for Bellatrix Star and fair to say she appeared to be in a commanding position throughout. 

Able to track along free of inference in seventh, she peeled to the outside on straightening and aided by her pull in the weights was too strong for the opposition when sweeping by them on the outside to score impressively.

“Credit to Mark Walker and Ben Gleeson, his foreman here in Melbourne, and all their staff,” Williams said. 

“They presented her, a three-year-old filly, at weight-for-age level, taking on some really seasoned horses, and they felt confident in doing so and she delivered.”

As a three-year-old filly given weight-for-age conditions, Bellatrix Star carried only 51kg while the remaining eight runners carried 58.5kg. In a race predominantly won by older horses, she became the first filly to win the event since Halibery (Red Ransom) in 2003. 

When asked about getting down in weights to ride at 51kg, Williams said: “I’ve been doing it for 32-years and a jockey’s life in not simple, but it’s what we do and what we signed up for, and I’m lucky that my wife is my nutritionist, my cook, and with my manager Jason Breen, basically I’m very lucky to make my job simplified.

“You sit on top of her (Bellatrix Star) and there’s a lot to like about her. She was a bit cantankerous before the race and eager to get on with it. She raced really well, was very effective late, and solid, and for the future she’s already effective down the straight, so for a three-year-old filly at this time of year I think there’s a nice race in a couple of weeks for her at Flemington. 

“I’m grateful for the ride and everyone’s done a great job, and most importantly she’s delivered – so, good girl.”

On footing upgraded to Good3, Bellatrix Star ran 1100 metres in 1:02.9 and she paid $6.70 & $2.00 on the NZ TAB tote. 

On course, Te Akau Australia assistant trainer Ben Gleeson said: “Craig (Williams) said he’d leave her alone and see where she got to in the run. He was patient, had so much confidence in the horse, and getting to the middle of the track to let down just highlights how well she is going.

“Mark (Walker) and John Galvin thought she would measure up. They took a punt to bring her over here, which is a big jump to make, and hats off to the teams in New Zealand and Australia. And Laura Winks that rides her in trackwork has done an amazing job.”

The victory continued a great current run of success for trainer Mark Walker, who has prepared five winners from the last nine runners out of the Te Akau stables at Cranbourne, while also increasing the broader picture of having top sprinters in Melbourne. 

Bellatrix Star follows in the footsteps of NZ Horse of the Year Imperatriz, who won five Group One sprint races last season in Melbourne, while Sans Doute recorded four sprint victories in a row, including victory in the Listed ATA/Bob Hoysted Stakes 1000m, before finishing second in the Group 3 Hawkes Stakes over 1100m. 

“It was fantastic to win that race today, with an absolutely gun ride by Craig Williams,” Walker said.

“She’s just going from strength to strength and beating the older horses, the first filly to do so in 21 years, just shows what a special achievement it was.

“So now it will be all systems go towards the Coolmore on Derby Day.”

The A$1.5 million Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes over 1200m is contested by three-year-olds on Saturday 2 November at Flemington.

“She’s just in such good form and deserves a crack at such an elite race, now, and it’s quite incredible to think what a great value yearling purchase she was by Dave (Ellis) at Karaka, off Phoenix Park, which is a great farm, and she was bred by Mark Pilkington and his crew at Seymour Park,” Walker added. 

Owned by the Fortuna Bellatrix Star Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), she was purchased for $80,000 by David Ellis CNZM and Galvin at the Karaka 2023 Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Phoenix Park, and her five wins from nine starts have yielded NZ$685,755 in prize money.

Stallion Star Witness (Starcraft) was a dominant winner of the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m), down the straight course at Flemington, before becoming a successful sprint sire in Australia.

Grand-sire of the filly, Starcraft (Soviet Star) is well known in New Zealand, having won two legs of the Group One Triple Crown at Hawkes Bay. He won Group One races in Australia, France, and England, and became a World Champion Turf Miler.

Dam Alana’s Party is by Australian Champion Sire and leading broodmare sire Exceed and Excel (Danehill), who made a name for himself over two decades of world racing and breeding – just an extraordinary sire whose winners have numbered over 5500, 370 stakes winners, including 17 individual Group One winners.

Grand-dam The Party Stand, by Stradbroke (Gr. 1, 1400m) winner Thorn Park (Spinning World), was an impressive winner from 1200m – 2000m, best around middle distances and included the N.Z. Stakes (Gr. 1, 2000m). 

“From my perspective, I thought she put in a fantastic performance today,” said Galvin, who was there a day earlier to see stable-mate and Fortuna Racing filly Our Paramour win at Cranbourne, before topping the trip off with Bellatrix Star.

“It’s always challenging when you’ve only been racing against your own age group and sex to then step up into a weight-for-age race on the big stage.

“I was quietly confident that she was going to perform well and what we saw from her today vindicated that confidence because once again she was quite dominant in the end.

“Craig (Williams) rode her the way he said he was going to ride her. He told us: “if she’s good enough she’ll gather them up in the run home”, and she certainly proved to be good enough.

“It was a bit like Moonee Valley last time. The same thing happened there, where you could see on the home turn that she had momentum and that she was going to surge.

“Her physical improvement between runs was quite remarkable, when looking at her in the stables yesterday. She’s strengthened, muscled, her coat was gleaming, and she didn’t take her head out of the feed bin.

“Three wins in two days is quite remarkable. I think this girl is something special though, and if she goes to the Coolmore, which is what we’re thinking, we’re going to have two runners in Group races on Derby Day, with Our Paramour going to the Wakeful Stakes and Bellatrix Star in the Coolmore Stud Stakes.”

 Bellatrix Star was strapped by Wyatt Jenkins.


Photo credit - George Sal/Racing Photos


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