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Clarken Racing | Clarken Racing News 53102 Bella Vella Back In Work For Now

Bella Vella back in work, for now

Bella Vella back in work, for now

Group 1 winner Bella Vella is back in work after a failed spring in the breeding barn was followed by a clear desire from the mare to try again as a racehorse, however brief the comeback might be.

Purchased by Rosemont Stud for $1.9 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale last May, Bella Vella was serviced three times by I Am Invincible in the spring and, for no identifiable reason, did not get in foal.

"When you purchase a mare for that sort of money with the view to get babies out of her, you want babies out of her, so it would be fair to say, we were pretty flat," Rosemont director Anthony Mithen said.

"She was only retired because the breeding season was coming up, it wasn't through injury or lack of form, so we thought, 'Do we have a bit of a look'?"

From there Bella Vella was sent to pre-trainer Brad Pearson at Barwon Heads for some very light duties to see how she responded.

"It's a bit like pulling the early 30s footballer out of retirement and just sit him in the forward pocket and see what happens," Mithen said.

"Soon Brad was ringing and saying that she was looking to do more, come out of the forward pocket and move up the ground a bit, if you will.

"That was when I was able to make the happy phone call to Will Clarken to ask if he would like to take over the reins of Bella Vella again."

Clarken and a handful of others purchased the mare at an Inglis Digital Sale in 2019 for just $22,500 and thereafter she went from a handicap rating in the low 70s to a G1 winner with victory in the 2020 Robert Sangster Stakes.

Her value skyrocketed, prompting Rosemont to pay the big bucks for her two years later.

"We're still very much in the thought process that she's only a bad gallop or bad trial away from being retired again and back on the green grass of Rosemont," Mithen explained.

"Whilst she continues to do everything right, that little May Carnival with the Sangster Stakes is staring us in the face and might be an option.

"She is a racehorse and she never lost the zest to race."

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