Bella Nipotina courageously holds off former winner Giga Kick to win the world’s richest turf race, The Everest (Skyracingworld.com)
TTRAusNZ.com.au
The mighty Ciaron Maher stable won both The Everest and Caulfield Cup, putting together an interstate Group 1 double within an hour of each other on Saturday in Australia.
Ciaron Maher’s tough mare Bella wins The Everest
The eighth running of The Everest gave the world a couple of firsts with the first mare to win and the first runners and first win for trainer Ciaron Maher. Somewhat surprisingly, the weighty Maher stable hadn’t had a runner until 2024 but made up for it with three runners on Saturday.
In the end, it was his tough 7-year-old mare Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) who threaded her way through the front runners to dive at the fast-finishing Clayton Douglas-trained Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) and win by 0.13l. Bella Nipotina’s stablemate 3-year-old colt Growing Empire (Zoustar) was the best of the rest, 1l back in third.
“She was right in the zone. So credit to Ciaron Maher, his whole training group around him. He’s a phenomenal trainer with so many different arms that help this process go along,” said jockey Craig Williams.
“Paul and Ange Fudge, they’re using their property at Bong Bong. You can see the benefits of that. And a 7-year-old mare, she’s never been in career best form, which is amazing. She is now. And today she showed everyone how good and tough she is because she had no favours.
“I’m just wrapped and grateful. My team around me, my family, my mum and dad, Uncle Tim and Aunt Julie here, places here, my children cheering at home.”
Williams won The Kosciuszko earlier in the day. “I’m very fortunate. I have been working out really hard with all my coaches and fitness people and my nutritionist, my wife, and my manager said, ‘There’s no use getting to one hill and that’s enough.”
Winner of 10 of her 55 starts, she took her earnings over $18 million, with the newly upgraded G1 The Everest taking her record to four Group 1 wins.
“You know, we thought she was in career best form, and she got her conditions to suit. We said at the barrier draw, she’s got an uncanny knack of running very well from any gate,” said Maher.
“Wide, inside, doesn’ t matter. And yes, Craig (Williams), beautiful ride. You know, to have the balls to do that. I can’t thank my team enough. She trains up on the beach and she’s been at Bong Bong the last two weeks and just the whole team, it’s unbelievable.
“She’s a bit like me, she doesn’t like to miss out on a carnival. She’s a beautiful horse to train. And Michael Christensen and Tim Porter and his brothers and family, you know, what a thrill for them. She’s been elite for like five years. It’s unbelievable.”
Her sire Pride Of Dubai is gaining a reputation for producing tough racehorses who train on thanks to Bella Nipotina, Pride Of Jenni, and Dubai Honour (Ire), who are three of his five Group 1 winners among 23 stakes winners.
Bella Nipotina is the first foal of Bella Orfana (Star Witness), who placed once at Geelong from six starts, and is a half-sister to Group 2 winner and multiple times Group 1-placed Hallowell Belle (Starcraft {NZ}) and Group 3 winner Fuddle Dee Duddle (Red Ransom {USA}) who is the dam of Group 3 winner Brereton (Zoustar).
Duke De Sessa gives Maher a G1 double with Caulfield Cup win
Just minutes after Ciaron Maher trained Bella Nipotina to win the G1 The Everest, his team took out another of Saturday’s features with a win in the G1 Caulfield Cup by Harry Coffey ridden 6-year-old gelding Duke De Sessa (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).
In a true stamina contest, Duke De Sessa jumped well and led for the first part of the race before Deny Knowledge (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai) crossed over to take the lead and put on a strong pace with Coffey tucked nicely in behind the leader. At the 600 metre mark, Duke De Sessa began a sustained sprint and cleared out four or five lengths on the rest of the field. Eventually the chasing group wore him down, and he won by 1.25l from Chris Waller trained Buckaroo (GB) (Fastnet Rock) with Buckaroo’s stablemate Land Legend (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) 6l in arrears in third. Zardozi (Kingman {GB}) ran fourth with Deny Knowledge sticking on for fifth.
“How am I feeling? Spectacular,” Coffey said post-race. “When I let rip, I thought maybe I’d gone too early. But one thing you can count on with Ciaron Maher and this amazing team he has, you can back your horses in. They’ll just keep running. And because of Ciaron, his horse’s owners, his staff, and more importantly the horse, I’ve been involved in the day I’ll never forget, on my birthday.
“Me and him just had a little moment along the side here… I actually can’t tell you the love and the happiness I have for how well this horse ran today. I just couldn’t believe it, that he kept running, that the Caulfield Cup was going to have Harry Coffey’s name next to it… it’s just phenomenal.
“It’s not supposed to happen to people like me. I’m considered a battler. People like to laugh about how I’m a battler and a country boy. But, yeah, not many Caulfield Cups get won by country boys.”
Duke De Sessa took his career record to five wins from 24 starts and earnings over $3.8 million. Winning the G1 Caulfield Cup earns a ballot exemption for the G1 Melbourne Cup, but Duke De Sessa doesn’t hold a nomination for that race so won’t be there on the first Tuesday in November.
“Oh, it’s magic to be honest. Yeah, just fantastic to get on the phone with him (Ciaron), especially after Bella. Pride Of Jenni’s walking into the yard as well, so we’ll hold fort for another 10 minutes. But just pinch me moment sort of stuff. Stable are having an extremely good day. Very good ride by Harry. Everyone’ s so thankful for Harry, and really appreciative for him to win. Everyone knows how well-deserved he is. It’s just amazing,” said stable representative Jack Turnbull.
“Last season, he was a colt, and he had a good think about it, and he used to over-travel. This race in particular, we changed a bit, so we put a norton on. He obviously had 12 months of seasoning and conditioning, and Ciaron and the team just had a better handle on him. So the form is around him with Via Sistina, and it’s just amazing. Just very appreciative and well done to Maurice Regan, Cole McKenna’s in the horse. It’s amazing, and it’s fantastic for the stable.”
A 60,000gns (AU$122,600) yearling purchase at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, Duke De Sessa was a Group 3 winner at two and three in Ireland before his transfer to Australia. This was his first win in Australia, and he was coming off two Group 1 fourth placings in his last two starts.
“I bought him out of Ireland two years ago now,” Will Bourne said of the estimated AU$2 million private purchase, “He was an on-speed tough horse, who we thought would be suited out here. We thought he’d hit the ground better than he did. He went first-up into a Doncaster and we were fairly bullish about him, but it (form) didn’t come.”
“We gelded him after his last run last spring. We ran him in the Sandown Classic and he had a huge lead, looked like he’d win half the straight and then died off. Like Gold Trip, he was very expensive and took a lot of time. But, like Gold Trip, he looks like he’s turned the corner and now feels at home.
“He’s got some of the Gold Trip owners in him and some of the Hitotsu owners, so owners that have had good success and now they’ve got more.”
He becomes the 24th Group 1 winner for his Ballylinch Stud-based sire who has 138 stakes winners in total. Duke De Sessa is the third foal of Dark Crusader (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), who won four races from 2200 metres to 2800 metres, and placed in the G3 Cork Give Thanks S. Dark Crusader is a half-sister to staying mare and Listed winner Naughty Or Nice (Ire) (Fastnet Rock), and their dam is an unraced three-quarter sister to G1 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Handicap winner Subtle Power (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}).
