Te Akau Season of Success - Bellatrix Star Shines Bright

The spotlight continues to shine on stellar performances by the Te Akau team in the 2024/25 season almost ended - Bellatrix Star certainly added her brilliance to the line-up with three shining Group wins in Melbourne - we reflect on the first ...

One of the most exciting juvenile fillies of her year, Group 2 Eclipse Stakes winner and New Zealand Champion Two-Year-Old finalist Bellatrix Star (3 f Star Witness – Alana’s Party, by Exceed and Excel) made her presence felt in Australia with a sizzling second-up win in the A$175,000 Cap D’Antibes Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Flemington on 14 September.

Trained from Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable, Bellatrix Star looked sharp and powerful in the mounting yard - her physique telling the story of a filly who had trained on beautifully from two to three years of age. Having resumed with a solid fifth in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on 17 August, she stripped fitter, was focused, and ready to show her explosive turn of foot.

With Kiwi star and former Te Akau apprentice Michael Dee in the saddle again, Bellatrix Star dropped out near the rear of a compact and high-quality field. Relaxed in the run, she tracked the heavily backed favourite Drifting (Zousain) into the race, before peeling out and surging with purpose through the final 200 metres. Her late charge was emphatic - she burst clear to win going away in a visually dominant performance down the famed Flemington straight.

Despite being largely overlooked in betting markets - drifting out to $26 fixed odds - she proved the punters wrong, returning a juicy $14.10 & $3.70 on the NZ TAB tote. The time for the 1100m was 1:05.9 on a rain-affected Soft7 surface, underscoring her adaptability and class.

This was a memorable win not just for the stable, but also for her delighted owners, the Fortuna Bellatrix Star Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), who have been on an unforgettable ride since she won the first two-year-old race of the season at Wanganui last year - an 800m dash that launched her into the spotlight.

Purchased for just $80,000 by David Ellis CNZM and John Galvin at the 2023 Karaka Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Phoenix Park, Bellatrix Star has already returned exceptional value - not just financially but in the joy and prestige of black-type success on both sides of the Tasman.

Her pedigree reads like a blueprint for speed and quality. Sire Star Witness (Starcraft), one of Australia’s most reliable sprint sires, was a dominant winner of the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes - also down the Flemington straight - and he has passed on his trademark toughness and acceleration to this precocious daughter. Starcraft himself is a household name in New Zealand: the winner of two legs of the Group One Triple Crown at Hawke’s Bay, and a truly international performer, with elite wins in Australia, France, and England. His influence on turf milers globally has been profound.

Bellatrix Star’s dam, Alana’s Party, is by one of the world’s greatest sires - Exceed and Excel (Danehill). His statistics are staggering: over 5500 winners globally, more than 200 stakes' winners, 18 individual Group One winners, and he is now firmly established as a leading broodmare sire. And the depth continues - her grand-dam The Party Stand (Thorn Park) was herself a Group One winner, taking out the prestigious NZ Stakes over 2000m and winning impressively from 1200m through to classic middle distances.

Sadly, after such a promising start to her three-year-old season, Bellatrix Star sustained an injury in training earlier this year. She is now enjoying a well-deserved spell in Victoria. The good news is that her injury was manageable, her recovery is progressing well, and her connections remain optimistic about her long-term future on the track - and one day, as a highly desirable broodmare.

To date, Bellatrix Star has already earned over NZ$1 million in prize money and left an indelible impression in both New Zealand and Australian racing circles. Her Cap D’Antibes triumph was another example of the firepower in the Te Akau tangerine - and a win that cemented her place among our stars of the season.