Bella Nipotina to be sold at public auction as glittering career comes to a close
Breeders will be afforded a rare opportunity when the multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) goes under the hammer in May.
The only mare to win The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) was officially retired on Tuesday, bringing an end to a glittering career in which the seven-year-old amassed an extraordinary $22,757,624 in prize-money, making her Australia’s second-highest earning racehorse, second only to Winx.
The daughter of Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) epitomised durability during her six seasons on the track, with 57 starts resulting in 11 wins, headed by four elite-level victories, eight at stakes level and 26 placings.
Bella Nipotina was bred and co-owned by Longwood Thoroughbred Farm and the Victoria-based operation’s principal Michael Christian said the decision to sell the mare was bittersweet.
“It’s been an incredible ride and journey that she’s taken us on right from starting as an October two-year-old and then being very competitive in the Debutant Stakes, right through to continuing to race on as a seven-year-old and becoming the first mare to win The Everest,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Our family owns 50 per cent and the other 50 per cent ownership group have decided they would like to sell, so that doesn’t give us many options.
“It is sad in a way, we would love to have kept her at the farm, but that’s not going to be the case, so she’ll be offered up for sale over the next couple of months.”
Key players from Inglis and Magic Millions will now be fighting for the right to sell Bella Nipotina, with Inglis’ Chairman’s Sale beginning in Sydney on May 8 and their Australian Broodmare Sale a day later, while the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale will be held on the Gold Coast on May 27-29.
“We’ve approached both Inglis and Magic Millions to get an idea of where and how they would sell her and a decision will be made over the next few days or next week as to where she will be sold,” Christian said.
“It will be emotional. We’ve bred the family up from the granddam Bella Inez to Hallowell Belle and Fuddle Dee Duddle and Brereton and Bella Orfana and now Bella Nipotina. It’s been a great family for us and it will be a tough day in a way.”
Bella Nipotina made her debut under the care of David Hayes in Caulfield’s Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) back in October of 2019, where she finished fourth.
She captured her first stakes win as a three-year-old for Tom Dabernig, winning the Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield by two lengths and, after joining the Ciaron Maher stable in May 2021, she doubled her Group 3 tally, taking out the How Now Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at the same track later that year as a four-year-old.
A first top-flight success came when she claimed an atoning win in the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at The Valley in 2022, a race in which she had been denied 0.1 lengths by Jonker (Spirit Of Boom) the year previous.
Three Group 1 placings followed before her remarkable Queensland winter carnival expedition in 2024, which yielded two elite-level wins in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m) and Tatt’s Tiara (Gr 1, 1400m), as well as two more Group 1 placings in the Kingsford Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) and Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m).
However, it was Sydney’s Spring Carnival that year which saw Bella Nipotina cement herself, with her crowning glory coming via an astonishing Everest win, where she overcame a gruelling trip to take out the $20 million sprint under regular partner Craig Williams by 0.2 lengths over 2022 champion Giga Kick (Scissor Kick).
She then claimed the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) before what turned out to be her last start in the Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m), where she finished third.
“I want to focus on what she did and the achievements that she made,” Christian said.
“As I say, an October two-year-old to probably her last nine starts, four starts in Queensland where she won two Group 1s and narrowly beaten in the other two Group 1s and then a couple of brilliant performances in the lead to the Everest.
“Then the Everest win, then the dominant win in the Russell Balding Stakes on Derby Day and just unlucky in the Champions Sprint not to win that as well.
“She was racing at her absolute peak as a seven-year-old, which is quite amazing when you consider how many starts she had and consider that she was running as an October two-year-old.
“We’re just blessed and feel so honored to be associated with her. And the fact that she was bred by Longwood Thoroughbred Farm and grew up on the farm and was able to reach the heights that she did was just a dream come true.
“It’s an amazing story and we look forward to seeing her babies on the ground at some point and who knows, we might even put a hand up and buy one so we’ll see how we go.”
The Maher stable also paid tribute in the announcement on X, saying of their star: “From New South Wales to Victoria, Queensland to Western Australia, [Bella Nipotina] became a familiar and beloved competitor across the nation.”
Reflecting on her career, Maher said: “Bella was the most consistent and toughest racehorse I have had the pleasure to train.
“She has given me some of my biggest thrills in racing and has had a wonderful career. I feel honoured to have been part of her journey, and the last 12 months have shown the true makings of a genuine Australian sprinter.
“As Bella embarks on her next chapter in the breeding barn, we have no doubt she will pass on her speed, toughness, and grit to the next generation. If her foals inherit even half of her qualities, they will be a force to be reckoned with.”