Having met just once during their decorated careers, Bella Nipotina and Amelia's Jewel will battle for a second time May 8, but on this occasion it will be in the ring rather than on the racetrack, with one of the pair almost certain to emerge with top billing from the Inglis Chairman's Sale.
The prized mares, who between them amassed 21 victories and almost AU$27 million in prize money, will headline the action at Inglis' Riverside Stables complex in Warwick Farm, where just shy of 90 fillies and mares are set to go under the hammer—including 70 stakes performers or producers.
When they faced off in last year's AU$5 million Quokka, Amelia's Jewel (second) beat home Bella Nipotina (fourth) although the latter can claim overall bragging rights given a more complete body of work, highlighted by her four group 1 wins.
Given the depth of her pedigree page and her aesthetic appeal, Segenhoe Stud's Peter O'Brien—the man tasked with selling fellow group 1 scorer Amelia's Jewel on behalf of her sole owner, Peter Walsh—is confident the 10-time stakes winner will emerge victorious in the race to be crowned the sale topper.
Segenhoe Stud will also present Queen Starlight, whose dam Fiera Vista was a stakes winner, and proven producer Fireworks to the buying bench. While both mares boast impeccable pedigrees and, in the case of the latter, a record of producing some seriously fast horses including stakes winner Millane, it is undoubtedly Amelia's Jewel who will command the most attention when she takes to the stage at approximately 8 p.m. local time.
"Her racetrack performances were phenomenal," O'Brien told ANZ Bloodstock News. "She won group races in three different states and she finished first or second in 17 of her 24 starts. Her mother (Bumbasina) is already well on the way to becoming a blue hen, having produced a group 1 winner and a stakes winner from her first two foals. But the key to Amelia's Jewel is her looks, because she's just absolutely beautiful."
Perhaps ironically, Bella Nipotina's breeder Michael Christian—who mixes his duties as the proprietor of Longwood Thoroughbred Farm with his role as the AFL's Match Review Officer—might secretly be hoping that O'Brien is on the money.
That is because Christian, who owns 50% of the majestic mare in partnership with his wife Siobhan and brother Brad, revealed he is more than likely to put his hand up at some stage during what promises to be a fiercely contested bidding war when the belle of the ball enters the sales ring just before 6 p.m.
Christian remains hopeful, if not confident, of completing the circle and taking her back to where it all began, in the northern Victorian town of Longwood. However, with the likes of Yulong and Coolmore—not to mention a plethora of potential purchasers from overseas—likely to be digging into their deep reserves to secure such a valuable breeding proposition, it is a battle he is almost resigned to losing.
"She was incredibly tough and incredibly brave, which is what endeared her to so many people. She didn't win every race by any stretch, but if you backed her you knew she would give absolutely everything, which is the hallmark of great racehorses.
"She's the only mare to have won an Everest and is second behind Winx in terms of prize money earned," Christian said. "So, they are two incredible feats. But she's a 7-year-old mare who's had 57 starts, so I don't know whether that might put some people off. It's difficult to assess mares of her quality because if some of the bigger players really like her, then she could make anything."
