Walker confident Bellatrix can take a starring role in the Coolmore
Daughter of Star Witness shoots for first top tier victory in Flemington’s 1200-metre event
Mark Walker is confident his surging filly Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) can strike a blow for New Zealand sprinters and cause another spoiler to the stallion-making party in Saturday’s Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington.
Rising from last season’s vintage crop of Kiwi two-year-olds, Bellatrix Star has been a stand-out of the spring, winning her past three starts at all three major Melbourne tracks, including victory over the older horses last time out in Caulfield’s Schillaci Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m).
As she has for all three of those runs – starting at $14, $9.50 and $6.50 – the Fortuna syndicates filly is set to go into the Coolmore under a few people’s radars.
On Monday she was an equal fourth-favourite in what looks set to be a wide open affair. Even Coolmore’s own colt Switzerland (Snitzel) – so impressive in regaining the winning the thread last start in Rosehill’s Roman Consul Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) – had to settle for the role of third-favourite when markets came out on Monday. At $5, he sat behind $3.50 co-favourites Growing Empire (Zoustar) and Traffic Warden (Street Boss).
Bellatrix Star was at $11 alongside another filly in Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon), Go Bloodstock’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner who silenced critics with a close fourth in The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) on her most recent appearance.
But females have had a recent habit of putting noses out of joint among those wanting to seal their colts’ stud futures in this race, with the genders taking turns to win the past six editions.
While Exceedance (Exceed And Excel, 2019), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible, 2021) and Ozzmosis (Zoustar, 2023) are now happily serving mares, fillies have also triumphed in Sunlight (Zoustar, 2018), September Run (Exceed And Excel, 2020) and In Secret (I Am Invincible, 2022).
A superstitious mathematician might say it’s a filly’s turn again in this even-numbered year, but Walker has sounder reason for confidence that Bellatrix Star can go from merely being Star Witness’s (Starcraft) second-best performer to also be his second individual Group 1 winner this Saturday.
“We did take a bit of risk sending her over to Australia, but I was confident last season was a particularly strong year for our New Zealand two-year-olds, and that’s been vindicated by her form,” Walker told ANZ Bloodstock News.
After winning New Zealand’s first two-year-old race of the season – an 800-metre Wanganui maiden – last September, Bellatrix Star was placed twice behind the filly who would become New Zealand’s Champion Two-Year-Old, Velocious (Written Tycoon).
At their next meeting, however, in Pukekoe’s Eclipse Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on New Year’s Day, Bellatrix Star won by 0.2 lengths as Velocious settled for third, behind another Walker-trained colt Move To Strike (I Am Invincible).
Velocious then won the Karaka Millions 2YO (RL, 1200m) and Sistema Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ellerslie. Move To Strike took the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in April.
Bellatrix Star ran fourth in the Karaka Millions but was found to have fractured a splint bone.
While her Eclipse win was on a Soft7, she’s proven herself equally strong on wet and dry in Melbourne. After kicking off with a fifth in Caulfield’s Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) on good going, she won Flemington’s Cap D’Antibes (Listed, 1100m) on a Soft7, Moonee Valley’s Scarborough Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on a Good4, and the Schillaci on a lightning Good3.
“The Eclipse was probably the best form race of the year, and then you had to forgive her Karaka Millions run next star because of her injury,” said Walker.
After Bellatrix Star recovered well through three months of box rest, Walker hatched an ambitious plan with John Galvin, owner of Fortuna, which has close ties to Walker’s main concern Te Akau.
Walker had not long earlier proven New Zealand doesn’t just make stayers by plundering six Melbourne sprint Group 1s with Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), whose enforced retirement has led to a recent cover by Yulong sire Pierata (Pierro).
“I spoke to John and said, ‘Listen, people don’t believe our sprinters are up to it, but I believe Bellatrix Star will be’,” Walker said. “And I was right.
“Her Quezette run was really good. She was drawn wide and went back, and it was hard to make up ground that day, but her sectionals were really good. We analysed the run of course, being our horse, so we knew we were on track, whereas for some people she might have slipped under their guard a bit.
“And then she’s won three in a row. She’s proven on wet but she’s just as good on dry. I guess the most impressive run was beating the older horses in the Schillaci. When someone like Craig Williams hops off and says you’re definitely up to running in a Coolmore, you’d have a crack, wouldn’t you?”
Williams won’t be there, since he’s riding Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) in the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill.
Blake Shinn takes over on the filly, with Walker encouraged by the Coolmore’s recent honours list – and the fact two of the past three Golden Slipper winners have been female in Lady Of Camelot, Fireburn (Rebel Dane) and Kiamichi (Sidestep).
“It’s a good strong crop of colts this year, but Bellatrix Star deserves her chance to run in it, that’s for sure,” Walker said.
“It hasn’t been all colts winning lately, has it? And looking at Golden Slippers as well, fillies have a good record there. So there’s no reason why she couldn’t win it, but it won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
“She’s handled the straight run at Flemington already, and she should run a strong six furlongs up the straight. She was good that day at Moonee Valley over 1200 metres, and won over the trip in New Zealand.”
Bellatrix Star is the third foal of Alana’s Party (Exceed And Excel), a mare who’s a daughter of New Zealand Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner The Party Stand (Thorn Park), and from the same family as triple Group 1 victor Callsign Mav (Atlante).
Alana’s Party failed to place in three starts in Queensland, but that didn’t deter Walker, Te Akau’s David Ellis and Galvin from buying the filly at Karaka, for an NZ$80,000 purchase price which now looks quite the bargain.
Their confidence was enhanced immediately. Alana’s Party’s first foal Vinolass (Supido) had won her first start already by Karaka time, but then won her next two. While those were only at Wagga, Canberra and the Sapphire Coast, after a lengthy spell trainer Keith Dryden took her to town where she was second at Warwick Farm last February.
As decent as that’s been for Dryden and owners, Bellatrix Star has eclipsed it by quite a margin, bringing emphatic vindication for her buying team.
“John Galvin told David and myself, ‘I want to get one for the Karaka Millions’,” Walker said. “He had a budget, he normally spends up to $120,000, but we picked out one for John to buy and get got her more cheaply.
“She looked pretty precocious, that’s why we bought her, and she was winning the first two-year-old race of the season in New Zealand, so we were bang on about her.
“She’s been a huge success for the Fortuna syndicate.”
Bellatrix Star would join dual Group 1 heroine Global Glamour as Star Witness’s second top-tier winner if she can prevail on Saturday. Wth four stakes victories including two Group 2s, she’s already the second-best performer for Widden Victoria’s $8,800 (inc GST) stallion, among the 17-year-old’s 25 stakes winners.