Bel Esprit 11/8/08

Bel is Champ.

August 11th, 2008
Indeed, it was almost a clean sweep for the son of Royal Academy who was Champion Victorian Second Season Sire by earnings, Champion Victorian Second Season Sire by (35) winners (equal with Dash For Cash, but with a superior strike rate), Champion Victorian 2YO Sire by (8) winners and second Leading Victorian 2YO Sire by earnings.Bel Esprit has come a long way since winning his first race – the 1000m Pierre Fontaine at Moonee Valley – back in October 2001. Four straight wins would follow including the Blue Diamond Stakes, his first Group One.
All up, Bel Esprit would start 19 times, all of them in stakes company, and brought home a cheque in 15. He raced in 12 Group Ones, with a 1-2 finish in six. He would bow out with a victory in the Doomben 10,000-G1 and head to stud in the spring of 2003.
Nearly 500 foals and an Australian record 266 covers last season, Bel Esprit is poised to continue re-writing history.
His first winner, Gabbidon, won a 2YO Maiden at Murray Bridge in the spring of 2006 and would win the MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude-G3 12 months on. Injury would prevent a tilt at the Thousand Guineas-G1 as nominal favourite. Shortly before, Bel Mer defeated a star studded field to win the Quezette Stakes-LR, a field which included the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond winners. In March, Bel Mer repeated the dose in the JRA Stakes for her second stakes victory.
What an amazing performance. With just two crops of racing age, Bel Esprit has been crowned Champion Victorian Sire for 2007-08. Eliza Park can’t say definitively that he’s the only sire to achieve such a distinction and, given that none of us have been around since Scobie Breasley was in short pants, we won’t ‘declare’ it, but it’s a tremendous effort nevertheless.
Belcentra stepped out on Melbourne Cup day at Flemington and won the Lexus-LR by six lengths, Vivacious Spirit is a winner and four times stakes placed from just eight outings, Blue Sky is stakes placed in Melbourne, Tassology, Esprit de Roses, Snip Esprit, Sonic Spree, Babieca Noire and Spirited Halo have all won in town, as has Royal Esprit, winner of three of his last four.
And buyers have responded accordingly with his yearlings selling to $460,000 in 2008. Naturally enough, his new round of 2YO's are with all the leading stables. Interesting times ahead for Victoria’s new king.