Resolute Racing acquires Bellacose in private sale

After posting on X that he had bought 2-year-old Bellacose John Stewart of Resolute Racing confirmed on August 17 the purchase of a 75% stake in the Audible Mare for an undisclosed price.

“I had posted on (X) that I would pay a commission if people found a horse they thought I should buy and got in touch with the owners,” Stewart said. “I wasn’t at her race at Saratoga, but I heard about her run and watched the race and she was really impressive.”

According to his social media post, Stewart paid $30,000 to the X-follower who arranged the introduction to Bellacose’s contacts.

The dark brown mare made an impressive debut at Saratoga Racetrack July 17, won a maiden special weight for New York-bred horses by 10 3/4 lengths. She was sold as a weanling for $33,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Mixed Sale, consigned by Saratoga Glen Farm and sold to AL D. She was purchased from the Paramount Sales consignment at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale for $82,000 and went to Jeremiah Englehart’s JCE Racing.

Bellacose was bred in New York by Beals Racing Stable and Saratoga Glen Farm. She is out of the unraced Uncle Mo Mare Little Bullet.

“As her name suggests, Little Bullet is not the biggest mare,” said Dan Barraclough of Saratoga Glen. “Audible definitely brought some size and substance, and Audible’s broodmare sire has always been one of my favorite mares.”

That sire, Gilded Time, was a Florida-bred near-millionaire who won $975,980 and three graded stakes races, including the 1992 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), and he was voted the 1992 Champion 2-year-old colt. He sired Grade/Group 1 winners in the United States, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, and his daughter Getback Time is the dam of Shaman spirit a multiple Grade 1 winner who retired with earnings of $3.8 million.

“We did a lot of research on Audible and we had never owned a horse before,” Stewart said. “We watched her work and thought she looked really good and moved really well. We think she has what it takes to win a graded stakes race.”

Prior to the private purchase, Bellacose was owned by Christopher T. Dunn, Blue Tarp Racing, Chris Mara, Greyhound Stables, Nicholas Sgroi, Arthur Sgroi, Jonathan M. Sacks and Corrin Genovese. Stewart was unsure if all of these partners remained in the ownership group, and the filly will race in the jersey of Resolute Racing.

“About 80% of our horses are primarily turf horses,” Stewart said, “but we also want to compete on dirt, even with mares. We thought she looked like a horse that would fit our program. We only want to run horses that are capable of winning high stakes races.”

For now, the filly will remain in Englehart’s stable. She is the first horse that Englehart will train for Stewart.

After his first win, Englehart said Bellacose would likely compete in the Seeking the Ante Stakes for New York-bred horses on Aug. 25. But after the purchase, that plan could change.

“We’ll enter her for that, but we might skip it,” Stewart said, declining to say whether the Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on August 31 would be the alternate destination.

Video: Saratoga, Race 3, MSW