NOT JUST CAVIAR

There is little question that Black Caviar has brought much joss to the house of BEL ESPRIT, but it’s worth remembering that one swallow – albeit a very great swallow – does not make a summer (and autumn and winter and spring).
Even without Black Caviar’s seasonal earnings of $1.8 million, Bel Esprit is still leading Victorian sire by earnings (and by a good margin!).
But we don’t look at it in terms of state boundaries: Bel Esprit is currently the sixth leading stallion in Australia by earnings and those ahead of him stood at as many as six times his service fee in 2010 and in the case of fourth placed, Commands, 2.4 times as much.
Furthermore – and probably paramount in light of the number of ‘bred and raced’ Bel Esprits – the ‘Champ’ is also fifth on the Australian Sires’ chart by winners and again, with a superior strike rate of winners to runners to all but Lonhro.
Producing the winners of 13 races in February, this is what his scorecard looks like thus far in March:

• 2 March : double with City of Song (Sandown), Bim Bom Bay (Ascot)
• 3 March : double with Bellatina and Babieca Noire
• 4 March : double with Plain Lucky (Moonee Valley) and Caprock
• 5 March : double with Esprit Lad and Mythical Spirit (along with 3 seconds and a third!)
• 6 March : double with Royal Express and Bayonet Charge
• 9 March : winner with Lagobell at Ascot
• 12 March : double with Black Caviar (Newmarket at Flemington) and Bella Savings
• 13 March : winner with Farasi in Tasmania
• 14 March : 5 runners … winner at Moonee Valley (Mythical Spirit), a stakes third in the CS Hayes Memorial-LR at Morphettville with Belgietto and two thirds at Moonee Valley (Bel Shoes and Bellatina)
• 15 March : no runners

On fire!

Bel Esprit