Latest news with #BellaNipotina
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Star jockey Craig Williams eyes rare Group 1 hat-trick in Doomben 10,000
Craig Williams is eyeing off a famous Doomben 10,000 three-peat as he aims to conquer a new personal frontier in Saturday's $1.5m Group 1. The legendary jockey has an unexpected opportunity to make it a hat-trick of Doomben 10,000 wins after scoring the race on Bella Nipotina and Giga Kick in the last two years. The 82-time Group 1 winner was due to miss Saturday's Doomben 10,000 day due to a riding suspension he incurred in Hong Kong. But, in a sliding doors moment, Williams was able to successfully amend the dates of the suspension when Blake Shinn was himself suspended and sidelined from riding Schwarz in the 10,000. It gives Williams the chance to do something he has never done before. He may have won the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes in Melbourne on seven occasions, but Williams said he has never won the same Group 1 race in three consecutive years. • Wet the key to Wealth in Group 1 Doomben 10,000 'I thought I was going to be on the sidelines this Saturday, but hopefully I am the right person at the right time,' Williams told Racenet. 'Trying to win three Doomben 10,000s in a row is something that I am really excited about. 'I got suspended in Hong Kong but there was a bit of flexibility with the (suspension) dates. 'Blake got suspended and had to choose which weekend and was suspended for and I was Johnny on the spot, I was quite lucky. 'My suspension is actually now starting on Sunday.' BELLA NIPOTINA WINS THE DOOMBEN 10,000! In a cracking finish, she defeats the favourite I Wish I Win right on the line! What a mare she is, and now takes her earnings closer to $10 million ðŸ'� — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 18, 2024 GIGA KICK CLAIMS THE DOOMBEN 10,000. â�¤ï¸�ðŸ¤� @CWilliamsJockey @c_douglasracing — 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) May 13, 2023 • Giga Kick was the $1.65 favourite when Williams rode him to 10,000 glory in 2023 and Bella Nipotina was $7 in betting when she knocked off I Wish I Win last year. Schwarz, the last start Group 1 William Reid Stakes winner, was $7.50 in betting on Thursday morning. The sprinter, who is set to have his last run in the 10,000 before going to stud, was shorter in betting earlier in the week but the prospect of a heavy Doomben track has turned some punters off. Co-trainer John O'Shea has indicated he wouldn't like the prospects of Schwarz on a bottomless track and there is a chance Schwarz wouldn't race if the track is extremely heavy. The Doomben track was in the heavy range on Thursday and more rain is forecast – although trying to second guess the weather in south-east Queensland is a trap. Williams has a busy riding schedule ahead but said he will set up shop in the Sunshine State for the majority of the winter carnival. He is set to be reunited with Kimochi in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup later this month, having steered the Gary Portelli-trained mare to win the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes last spring. Queensland has been a happy hunting ground for Grand Slam-winning jockey Williams in recent years – the Victorian has won four winter carnival Group 1s since 2021. 'Peter Moody says there are two types of Australians,' Williams laughed. 'There are Queenslanders and those who want to be Queenslanders.' Even if Williams claims his third Doomben 10,000, he will still have some work to do to catch the legendary George Moore who won the race five times.
Courier-Mail
08-05-2025
- Business
- Courier-Mail
The Everest winner Bella Nipotina fetches sale record
Mighty mare Bella Nipotina fetched a cool $4.2 million to set a new Inglis Chairman's Sale record at Riverside Stables on Thursday night. Following some frenetic bidding for the reigning The Everest winner, it was co-owner Michael Christian's Longwood Thoroughbreds that ultimately secured the four-time group 1 winner of $22.8 million in prize money. The purchase sees Christian, who bred the seven-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai, essentially buy out the remaining owners and ensure the once-in-a-lifetime galloper remains part of the Longwood Thoroughbreds family. READ: 'They thought I was semi-retired': How Callow became the King again 'It's great to be able to bring her home to where it all started,' Christian said. 'We knew it was always going to be tough to secure her, there was some serious bidding going on, and I'm just proud that we were able to secure her and bring her home.' The $4.2 million splurged for Bella Nipotina surpasses the previous $3.6 million record paid for Nimalee at the 2023 Inglis Chairman's Sale. Bella Nipotina retired following a glorious 57-start career winning 11 races, four at group 1 level, with her crowning glory when becoming the first filly or mare to win The Everest in 2024. Her stake earnings of $22.8 million sits only behind the great Winx ($26.5m) in the all-time record books. And while Bella Nipotina was the headline horse at Thursday night's sale, she wasn't the only mare to command big dollars. Coolmore paid $2.8 million to secure Tiz Invincible, Ciaron Maher Bloodstock parted with $2.4 million to snare Too Darn Lizzie while Coolmore were at it again when paying $2.8 million for four-year-old Estriella. Arrowfield paid $2 million to land top flight mare I Am Me while the final lot of the night, star group 1 winning mare Amelia's Jewel, fetched an eye-watering $3.8 million from new owners Coolmore. 14 mares went for more than $1 million across the star-studded catalogue. Originally published as The Everest winner Bella Nipotina fetches Chairman's Sale record $4.2 million
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
The Everest winner Bella Nipotina fetches Chairman's Sale record $4.2 million
Mighty mare Bella Nipotina fetched a cool $4.2 million to set a new Inglis Chairman's Sale record at Riverside Stables on Thursday night. Following some frenetic bidding for the reigning The Everest winner, it was co-owner Michael Christian's Longwood Thoroughbreds that ultimately secured the four-time group 1 winner of $22.8 million in prize money. The purchase sees Christian, who bred the seven-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai, essentially buy out the remaining owners and ensure the once-in-a-lifetime galloper remains part of the Longwood Thoroughbreds family. 'It's great to be able to bring her home to where it all started,' Christian said. 'We knew it was always going to be tough to secure her, there was some serious bidding going on, and I'm just proud that we were able to secure her and bring her home.' The $4.2 million splurged for Bella Nipotina surpasses the previous $3.6 million record paid for Nimalee at the 2023 Inglis Chairman's Sale. BELLA NIPOTINA (Lot 35) sells for $4.2m!!! This incredible mare from @cmaherracing draft sells to Longwood Thoroughbred Farm! Wow, what a great result! #InglisChairmans — Inglis (@inglis_sales) May 8, 2025 Bella Nipotina retired following a glorious 57-start career winning 11 races, four at group 1 level, with her crowning glory when becoming the first filly or mare to win The Everest in 2024. Her stake earnings of $22.8 million sits only behind the great Winx ($26.5m) in the all-time record books. And while Bella Nipotina was the headline horse at Thursday night's sale, she wasn't the only mare to command big dollars. Coolmore paid $2.8 million to secure Tiz Invincible, Ciaron Maher Bloodstock parted with $2.4 million to snare Too Darn Lizzie while Coolmore were at it again when paying $2.8 million for four-year-old Estriella. Arrowfield paid $2 million to land top flight mare I Am Me while the final lot of the night, star group 1 winning mare Amelia's Jewel, fetched an eye-watering $3.8 million from new owners Coolmore. 14 mares went for more than $1 million across the star-studded catalogue.
News.com.au
07-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Superstar mares Bella Nipotina and Amelia's Jewel headline lots at black-tie Inglis Chairman's Sale
Michael Christian, the owner-breeder of The Everest winner Bella Nipotina, admitted he will be feeling the full gamut of emotions when super mare enters the auction ring at the Inglis Chairman's Sale at Warwick Farm on Thursday night. 'I'll be feeling nervous, excited, anxious – and very sad when 'Bella' goes up for sale,'' Christian said. 'We bred the mare and have enjoyed the most incredible and unbelievable ride that anyone could imagine with her. 'We were keen to hold on to the mare to breed but our partners in the horse decided they would like to sell. 'So, the only fair way to do that is to bring her to public auction which is what we are doing.'' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. The Ciaron Maher -trained Bella Nipotina was retired earlier this year after an outstanding race career where she won 11 of her 57 races, with four wins at Group 1 level including The Everest, for a staggering $22.7m prizemoney, second only to all-time great Winx on $26.4m. Understandably, Bella Nipotina is the headline act among 96 lots due to go under the hammer at the Chairman's Sale, a black-tie event that has become one of Inglis' most signification annual auctions. • The catalogue also include outstanding fillies and mares like Group 1 winner Amelia's Jewel, I Am Me, Makarena, Estriella, Too Darn Lizzie, Tiz Invincible and Semana, plus a share in exciting young stallion Alabama Express will also go under the hammer. At last year's Chairman's Sale, 59 lots were sold for an aggregate of $35,335,000 with an average price of $598,898 (median of $400,000) with the top priced lots including $3.4m for She's Extreme, $3.2m to Tutta La Vita and $2.2m for Kimochi. But with the bullish Australian racing and breeding industry, Chairman's Sale records are set to be smashed on Thursday night. 'It's going to be a really fun night,'' Inglis chief executive Sebastian Hutch said. 'This year's Chairman's Sale especially is a celebration of the careers of some of the best race fillies and mares.'' • Free membership, $1000 bar tab if Rosehill sale goes ahead Hutch said the Chairman's Sale is like no other thoroughbred auction anywhere in the world. 'It's effectively a cocktail party with a horse sale added, everyone is dressed up, there's pre and post-sale entertainment – this year being duelling pianos based off the Las Vegas phenomenon,'' Hutch said. 'The sale itself is all over in just three or four hours, it really is globally unique and it's here in Sydney.'' The highest-priced for a mare sold at auction was the $6.6m paid for Imperatriz last but although bidding for Bella Nipotina is not likely to reach those dizzying heights, it is expected she will go for more than $3m. 'My brother and I will be bidding to a price to see if we can keep 'Bella','' Christian said. 'Whether that is enough to buy her is another question but we will wait and see.''
