Bella Gioia picking up pace in Oz
Trainer has eye on Queensland Guineas for filly
Group one performer Bella Gioia is hitting top gear in Queensland after a slow start. “She took a while to get back on her tucker when she first arrived, but she’s come right and she’s ready to rock and roll now,” Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie said.
“She had a good gallop with Sultan Of Swing on Monday and they both went very well. I’m satisfied with the pair of them.”
Bella Gioia finished runner-up in the group one New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton in the spring, after which she had to undergo surgery to remove bone chips from a fetlock.
The daughter of Swiss Ace has had one run since when eighth in the group three Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, a performance that earned a pass mark from Ritchie.
“I would have liked to see her attack the line a little bit better, but she hadn’t run for a long time so she was okay,” he said.
Bella Gioia will make her Australian debut in the group three Fred Best Classic at Eagle Farm on Saturday and her performance will determine the future direction of her campaign.
“If she runs really well then we could be looking at a race like the Queensland Guineas for her or there are a number of other fillies’ races,” Ritchie said.
Meanwhile, stablemate Sultan Of Swing has come through his unplaced Australian debut at Doomben in good style.
“He had no luck and was caught three wide so we didn’t really get a line on him,” Ritchie said.
“He’ll run in a listed race at Eagle Farm next on Saturday week.”
A change of stable is imminent for the group one winner Sound Proposition.
The Savabeel five-year-old made his final appearance from the Matamata stable of Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott when he was unplaced in his Australian debut in the group one Doomben Cup, in which he was tripped up by the heavy going.
The race was won by Sense Of Occasion, who is prepared at Newcastle by Kris Lees — the new trainer of Sound Proposition.
“We’ve been told that’s what is happening and we can’t blame the owners for that,” O’Sullivan said.
“He likes the good tracks and there isn’t much around at home for him. I don’t think he’s a Hawke’s Bay horse, he’s struggled going left-handed in the past.”
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan has revealed that their Sistema Stakes winner Summer Passage is unlikely to race in New Zealand again this year.
“We’ve got a group one with him here and we can only add value by winning one in Australia,” he said.
“The main target is likely to be the Coolmore Stud Stakes.” The 3-yearold sprint will be run at Flemington on November 4.