Category Archives: Bel Esprit

Third Group 1 winner for Bel Esprit in Galaxy

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A throat operation has transformed Bel Esprit (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) gelding Bel Sprinter (Bel Esprit – Gavroche, by Snippets) from a classy performer to a world class sprinter after he became the first Group 1 winner for Mornington trainer Jason Warren in The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill.

Bel Sprinter had enough talent to win six of his first 13 starts, including the Group 3 McEwen Stakes (1000m) and two Listed events, but Warren said an underlying issue prevented his charge from performing at his best.

“I’ve got to pay credit to my vets. This horse has had throat surgery, they’ve fixed him up. He was getting half as much air as he needed,” he said.

Bel Sprinter showed the effects of his laser surgery with his devastating performance. However, barrier problem child was slow away in the Galaxy, showing surgery can’t help all persistent problems.

A remarkably fast pace countered any obstacles the slow beginning presented as Bel Sprinter was able to get to the outside from the 600 metres in a strung-out field.

Bel Sprinter lethal acceleration enabled him to descend on the front-runners passing the 200 metres. Jockey Kerrin McEvoy was able to enjoy the ride to the line as Bel Sprinter had the $355,000 won 100 metres from home before the pair thumped a hot field of speedsters by 3-1/4 lengths to give the young team its first Group 1 victory.

“I know how good he is,” Warren said. “But he has been very frustrating at times.

“It’s just such a relief because he has had a lot of problems but he has always shown that he is capable of this.

“I wasn’t too worried at the start because he does that all the time. That was unbelievable. In these big races he always misses the start. Kerrin (McEvoy) just played it cool before getting to the outside and letting rip.

“I was disappointed we couldn’t run in the Oakleigh Plate. I know how good he is first-up. We’ve set him for this.”

Warren said Bel Sprinter would stay in Sydney to take on another of Bel Esprit’s famous progeny when he meets unbeaten champion Black Caviar in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 13.

Bel Sprinter’s latest win earned a $215,000 winner’s cheque for connections, taking his earnings to more than $640,000 and also justified Warren’s decision to buy Bel Sprinter’s brother for $140,000 at the 2012 Magic Millions Yearling Sale at the Gold Coast.

Bel Sprinter became the third Group 1 winner for Eliza Park’s Bel Esprit, joining Black Caviar and Bel Mer as progeny of the sire to have won at the top level.

Kitchwin Hills will offer the only progeny of Bel Esprit to go under the hammer at the upcoming Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when a filly out of My Broken Drum (Slickly – Silent Heir, by Sunday Silence) enters the ring as lot 225.

Caviar monsters William Reid rivals

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Bel Esprit’s (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) champion daughter Black Caviar (Bel Esprit – Helsinge, by Desert Sun) farewelled her Melbourne fans with yet another dominant display in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.

The Moonee Valley Racing Club turned on all the bells and whistles pre-race with a parade of Black Caviar’s connections but the big crowd on hand only cared to see Australia’s super mare on a Victorian racetrack one last time.

Victorian-bred and trained, Black Caviar dispatched another solid, rather than spectacular, line-up of rivals in contemptuous fashion, settling handy to the pace before disdainfully sweeping aside her opposition rounding the home turn.

Black Caviar again proved a dream television performer, ending the $400,000 event as a contest early in the straight, allowing the camera to hone in her while racecallers did their best to describe one of the great sights in racing as the world’s best sprinter coasted to the line well clear.

Friday night’s win was extra special as Black Caviar joined the previous sole Australian record holder Kingston Town (Bletchingly – Ada Hunter, by Andrea Mantegna) on 14 Group 1 wins but her trainer Peter Moody said the advertisement the six-year-old provided for racing surpassed her 24 victories in importance.

“It’s great and to see the people out here and see her put on a wonderful show,” Moody said. “That’s what it’s about now, it’s not about the wins, it’s about the great publicity she gives the sport in general.

“For our industry, she’s second to none.”

Black Caviar’s stablemate Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt – Card Queen, by Final Card) held on for second, four lengths behind the wonder mare, while Fawkner (Reset – Dane Belltar, by Danewin) finished brilliantly to claim third in the slowly-run race.

Sydney is the next stop for Black Caviar with the best NSW sprinters waiting for her to run in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on April 13 but part-owner Neil Werrett refused to rule out another trip to England to give her a chance to display her true ability at Royal Ascot.

Buyers will have one more chance to buy into the Black Caviar legacy when her half-brother by Redoute’s Choice (Danehill – Shantha’s Choice, by Canny Lad) goes under the hammer at next month’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney.

16 for Bel Esprit after Lovemadly’s Valley win

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Bel Esprit (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) mare Loveyamadly (Bel Esprit – Beauty World, by  Danehill Dancer) looked set for another stakes placing before a late surge won her the Listed Abell Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.

Loveyamadly had the Group 3 Bellmaine Stakes (1200m) in her sights before There’s Only One (Testa Rossa – Aunty Hilda, by Nassipour) denied her a stakes victory in the shadows of the post but the Mick Price-trained mare bounced back from that defeat with a win in track record time at Flemington on March 2.

The four-year-old settled behind the leaders in the Abell Stakes but looked to be headed for an unlucky defeat when stuck behind the tiring front-runners but an opening appeared in time for jockey Dale Smith to drive her to victory.

Go The Knuckle (Elvstroem – Zefta, by Zeditave) flew late to miss the major prize narrowly while It Is Written (Written Tycoon – Winning Team, by Danehill Dancer) held on for third.

Peter Creighton’s United Syndications paid $60,000 for Loveyamadly out of the Yallambee Stud draft at the 2010 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. The mare is a half-sister to the stakes-placed American Crew (Stratum – Beauty World, by Danehill Dancer).

Loveyamadly became the 16th stakes winner for the Eliza Park-based Bel Esprit with her success against the males.

Seven rivals for Black Caviar in Lightning Stakes

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Champion galloper Black Caviar (Bel Esprit – Helsinge, by Desert Sun) will have seven rivals for her quest for a third win in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.

Black Caviar’s 22 straight wins, including her last-start success in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (6f) at Royal Ascot prompted the Victoria Racing Club to name the Lightning Stakes in her honour. Black Caviar’s stablemate Moment Of Change (Barely A Moment – Europium) is the only other Group 1 winner in the Lightning Stakes field, courtesy of his victory in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in September.

Below is the field for the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington.

No Horse Trainer Jockey Br. Wgt. Sire
1 FIRST COMMAND Anthony Freedman Steven Arnold 8 58.5kg Commands
2 GOLDEN ARCHER Peter G Moody Daniel Stackhouse 1 58.5kg Rock Of Gibraltar
3 MOMENT OF CHANGE Peter G Moody Ms Linda Meech 3 58.5kg Barely A Moment
4 GO THE KNUCKLE Robert Smerdon Nicholas Hall 5 58.5kg Elvstroem
5 SPIRIT CENT John Leek (Jnr) Kerrin McEvoy 7 58.5kg Invincible Spirit
6 BLACK CAVIAR Peter G Moody Luke Nolen 2 56.5kg Bel Esprit
7 SATIN SHOES Clarry Conners Craig Williams 6 56.5kg Flying Spur
8 SHAMEXPRESS Danny O’Brien Glen Boss 4 55.5kg O’Reilly

 

 

All Too Hard wins CF Orr for new owners

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His superstar half-sister Black Caviar (Bel Esprit – Helsinge, by Desert Sun) won last year’s Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) but was never under the pressure All Too Hard (Casino Prince – Helsinge, by Desert Sun) was before his success in Saturday’s renewal of the Caulfield feature.

Thankfully, horses probably don’t know a lot about the expectations owners place on them. All Too Hard has the unenviable task of repaying his new owners’ outlay of more than $20 million that they spent to buy the colt as part of a blockbuster deal with Patinack Farm founder Nathan Tinkler.

All Too Hard carried the Patinack Farm colours to victory in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas in the spring, assuring his stud career, to accompany his three two-year-old stakes wins, which included two a Group 2 level.

The son of Casino Prince (Flying Spur – Lady Capel, by Last Tycoon) stepped out in Vinery Stud’s green and white silks for the first time in the CF Orr Stakes, which was the seventh race of a meeting dominated by the on-pacers but co-trainer Wayne Hawkes said he instructed jockey Dwayne Dunn to ride All Too Had confidently.

“The way the races have been run here today, it has been fairly leader biased and there hasn’t been much coming from behind,” Hawkes, who trains All Too Hard in partnership with his father John and brother Michael, said.

“The last thing I said (to Dunn) was, ‘you are on the best horse and ride him like it’.”

Dunn followed Hawkes’s instructions, letting All Too Hard find his feet back in the field before the colt’s terrific acceleration enabled him to make up ground quickly when asked at the 600 metres.

All Too Hard first ended the chances of Kiwi star (King) Mufhasa (Pentire – Sheila Cheval, by Mi Preferido) adding to his haul of 10 Group 1 wins before forging to the lead inside the 150 metres.

All Too Hard understandably tired a touch in the final 50 metres but had a half-length to spare over returning stayers Mawingo (Tertullian – Montfleur, by Sadler’s Wells) and Mr Moet (Mosayter – Marlock Miss, by Karioi Star).

Hawkes said All Too Hard was far from fully fit for the first outing of a campaign what would probably include a trip to England for an attempt to emulate Black Caviar with a win at the Royal Ascot carnival before his begins his duties at Vinery Stud next season.

“The pressure is on but you want to keep his record intact and make everything right,” Hawkes said. “He’s not screwed down yet. Where he’s going to end up, we’re not sure yet but you can’t do much more than win first-up over seven furlongs.

“He’s never done that before. He’ll be having a big blow because he’s a big boy. There was a lot of pressure on him too. He’s worth a lot of money and we had done our job but he has the final say. All credit where it is due.”

Another 2YO winner for Bel Esprit

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Topaque became Bel Esprit’s (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) third two-year-old winner of the season after winning the $40,000 Sportingbet Handicap (1000m) at Morphettville Parks on Saturday.

The Tony McEvoy-trained Topaque (Bel Esprit – Tresillian, by Danehill) was afforded a lovely ride by Paul Gatt.

Gatt positioned the filly behind the leader Erbawi (Dubawi – Erfoig, Centre Stalls) and then angled into clear running shortly after straightening, allowing Topaque ample time to secure victory on debut.

Topaque defeated her stablemate Hi Mackay (Testafiable – Fuji’s Revenge, by Fuji Kiseki) by two lengths.  Erbawi faded into third, another three-quarters of a length away.

Topaque’s pedigree suggested she was going to be competitive as a juvenile. Her sire Bel Esprit won five times as a two-year-old, completing the Blue Diamond Preview, Prelude and Stakes treble.

Her dam, Tresillian, won a two-year-old handicap at Morphettville over 1050 metres and was runner-up in her first season in Adelaide on a further two occasions.

Bel Esprit’s other juvenile winners this season are Diamond Glow (Bel Esprit – Prompt, by Exceed And Excel) and Clevadude (Bel Esprit – Jezeera, by Jetball).

Bel Esprit filly glows in VOBIS Gold Carat

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Trainer Peter Moody appears to have another handy daughter of Bel Esprit (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) in his care after the impressive win of Diamond Glow (Bel Esprit – Prompt, by Exceed And Excel) in the inaugural $150,000 VOBIS Gold Carat (1000m) at Caulfield.

Moody, the trainer of Bel Esprit’s greatest foal Black Caviar (Bel Esprit – Helsinge, by Desert Sun, wasn’t trackside to view Diamond Glow’s strong debut performance. Instead, he was up on the Gold Coast inspecting yearling before next week’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale.

Diamond Glow was sluggish to leave the gates but mustered good speed under the urgings of Vlad Duric to settle third, just off the lead. She covered plenty of extra ground in the six-horse field but proved too strong over the final 200 metres to win by 1-¾ lengths.

“Her temperament around the stable is terrific, we can’t fault her,” Moody’s stable assistant Tom Brideoake said.

Arion Pedigree statistics Diamond Glow became the 349th winner for Bel Esprit. The son of Royal Academy has produced 15 stakes winners and five Group winners.

Brideoake said post-race it was the intention of the stable to add black type to Diamond Glow’s record before the end of this campaign.

Diamond Glow is out of Prompt (Exceed And Excel – Amnesia, by Desert Sun), a daughter of Exceed And Excel (Danehill – Patrona, by Lomond) that raced on three occasions before going to the breeding barn. She is a half-sister to the stakes placed Montoux (Montjeu – Amnesia, by Desert Sun), who was a triple city winner in Brisbane.

Diamond Glow was purchased for $110,000 by Ontrack Thoroughbreds at the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Kulani Park is offering a brown colt by Statue of Liberty (Storm Cat – Charming Lassie, by Seattle Slew) out of Prompt during the first session of the 2013 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale on January 9. He will parade as Lot 151.

Bel Esprit’s dude tunes up for MM 2YO Classic in style

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Bel Esprit (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) gelding Clevadude (Bel Esprit – Jezeera, by Jetball) ensured he made the Magic Millions 2YO Classic field with a comfortable win in the Sportingbet Plate (1000m) at Moonee Valley.

The soft win over three rivals did little to enhance or damage Clevadude’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic credentials but the $48,000 winner’s cheque left the Rick Hore-Lacy-trained youngster safely in the field for the Gold Coast event.

Clevadude jumped cleanly to find the front, ensuring jockey Craig Newitt was able to dictate proceedings throughout the two-year-old’s city debut. Clevadude simply slipped away from his battling opposition to score by 4-1/2 lengths.

“He’s pretty smart,” Hore-Lacy said. “He’s got the perfect temperament for a racehorse and he looks the real deal.

“There will be plenty of opposition (in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic) but this bloke will take some beating, particularly if he is lucky enough to draw a gate.”

Hore-Lacy paid $220,000 for Clevadude during the fifth session of the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. The Caulfield trainer

“He was always a beautiful yearling,” Hore-Lacy said. “To their credit at Eliza Park, he was in the second sale and I was looking at first sale horses and this young fellow at Eliza Park said, ‘Rick, have a look at this one. He’s in the second sale’.

“I thought, ‘my God, what a beautiful horse’, so I hung around for him and got him.”

Clevadude’s dam Jezeera (Jetball – Tolleranza, by Alzao) is a sister to the stakes winner Belle Ball (Jetball – Tolleranza, by Alzao) and a half-sister to the stakes-placed performer Tollesprit (Bel Esprit – Tolleranza, by Alzao).

15 for Bel Esprit in Lough Neagh

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Gold Coast gelding Audacious Spirit (Bel Esprit – Roskeel, by Zeditave) broke through for a deserved stakes success at his 12th attempt in Saturday’s Listed Lough Neagh Stakes (1350m) at Doomben.

The son of Eliza Park stallion Bel Esprit (Royal Academy – Bespoken, by Vain) had five placings at Listed and Group 2 level to his credit before favourable circumstances aided Audacious Spirit’s bid for a long-desired stakes success.

The Gillian Heinrich-trained four-year-old was able to slide straight to the front for veteran jockey Jeff Lloyd, who was able to control the pace of the $200,000 event to hamper the chances of the favoured backmarkers Morning Captain (Danbird – Joias, by Housebuster) and Phelan Ready (More Than Ready – Nancy Eleanor, by Blevic) in the middle stages.

Audacious Spirit slipped three lengths clear of his opposition at the 400 metres but he needed nearly all of that break as Morning Captain got within a half-neck of denying him a stakes victory yet again while Phelan Ready was third.

“It’s probably a race you’ve got to aim for but I wouldn’t have liked it to be an extra 50 metres today because he was paddling at the finish,” Lloyd said. “The Eagle Farm straight has found him out twice this campaign but the shorter run home here was a big help.”
Audacious Spirit, an $80,000 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale purchase, became the 15th stakes winner sired by Bel Esprit, who stood for $27,500 during the 2012 breeding season.

Black Caviar claims Cartier sprinters’ title

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Superstar Black Caviar (Bel Esprit – Helsinge, by Desert Sun) became the second Australian-bred winner of the Cartier Sprinter Award in three years in London on Tuesday night.

Black Caviar’s epic win in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (6f) during the Royal Ascot carnival enabled her to secure enough points, plus votes from journalists and the public, to join July Cup winner Starspangledbanner (Choisir – Gold Anthem, by Made Of Gold) as a winner of the award.

Meanwhile, the progeny of Darley stallions swept the juvenile categories of the Cartier Racing Awards.

Dawn Approach (New Approach – Hymn Of The Dawn, by Phone Trick) joined his sire New Approach (Galileo – Park Express, by Ahonoora) as a winner of the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt trophy while Elusive Quality’s (Gone West – Touch Of Greatness, by Hero’s Honor) undefeated daughter Questing (Elusive Quality – Please Sign In, by Doc’s Leader) won the fillies’ category.

Dawn Approach won his six starts as a juvenile in 2012, including the Group 1 National Stakes (7f) in Ireland, which prompted Godolphin to buy the horse off clients of the Jim Bolger stable.

The Godolphin-owned Questing’s four wins included the Group 1 Shadwell Fillies’ Mile (8f) at Newmarket in late September.