Mark Walker is adopting a cautious stance with the talented mare Bellatrix Star as she approaches her return to racing, a decision influenced by his past experiences with the horse over the last two seasons.
Her comeback is scheduled for this Saturday in the $200,000 Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield.
This 1100-metre weight-for-age race will mark Bellatrix Star’s first start since finishing at the tail of the field in the Listed Doveton Stakes back in November. Before that, she competed in the Group 1 Champions Sprint over 12 months prior, finishing unplaced.
Having previously secured second place behind Switzerland in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, Bellatrix Star has not yet achieved the heights Walker believed she was destined for as a mare. However, he remains optimistic that the rising five-year-old still has more to accomplish.
“We’ve had a lot of problems with her and she’s been off the scene for a long time,” Walker commented.
“She had an accident coming home from the swimming pool, she fractured her neck when a loose horse ran past and she reared up and fell over.
“We got her over that, then she had her first start back and she chipped a fetlock and had to go for fetlock surgery.
“That’s just racing, you take the good with the bad. She’s still very lightly-raced, so if she ran well on Saturday, hopefully we get things back on track.”
Bellatrix Star’s record shows five wins from her 12 starts, including significant Group 2 victories in the Eclipse Stakes (1200m) in New Zealand and the Schillaci Stakes (1100m) against older horses, which occurred before her run in the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
The daughter of Star Witness has received a deliberate preparation, featuring two trials and two jumpouts. Her most recent jumpout at Cranbourne last Monday saw her win convincingly by two lengths over Midnight Devil and Pinstriped.
Craig Williams, who was aboard for Bellatrix Star’s Schillaci Stakes win, also partnered her in the recent workout. Walker sees it as a positive sign that the premiership-chasing jockey is sticking with her for the race.
“It was encouraging that Craig rode her in the jumpout and he’s riding her raceday, so that gives us a bit of a push,” Walker said.
Bellatrix Star was one of nineteen entries for the Monash Stakes, with Matt Smith’s classy gelding Headwall among the notable potential rivals.
The upcoming Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield presents an intriguing betting proposition. Consider checking out Australian betting sites for the most up-to-date racing odds.