After posting on X that he bought a 2 year old Bellacose Resolute Racing’s John Stewart confirmed on August 17 that he had purchased a 75% stake in Can be heard mare for an undisclosed price.
“I posted on (X) that I would pay a commission if people found a horse they thought I should buy and introduced me to the owner,” Stewart said. “I wasn’t at Saratoga to race her, but I heard about her race, and I watched the race, and she was really impressive.”
According to the social media post, Stewart paid $30,000 to Follower X, who arranged the introduction to Bellacose’s connections.
The dark brown or tan mare made a striking debut at Saratoga Race Track July 17, won a New York stallion special 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, going to Jeremiah Englehart’s JCE Racing.
Bellacose is bred in New York by Beals Racing Stable and Saratoga Glen Farm. She is not a racehorse. Uncle Mo Little Bullet mare.
“As her name suggests, Little Bullet isn’t the biggest mare,” said Saratoga Glen’s Dan Barraclough. “Audible has definitely added some size and power, and Audible’s broodmare has always been my favorite.”
That stallion, Gilded Time, was a Florida-bred quasi-millionaire who won $975,980 and three graded races, including the 1992 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), and was named champion 2-year-old in 1992. He sired grade/group 1 winners in the United States, Argentina, Australia and Brazil, and his daughter, Getback Time, was the mother of Magician The multiple Grade 1 winner retired with $3.8 million in prize money.
“We did a lot of analysis around Audible, and we didn’t own one yet,” Stewart said. “We watched her work, and we thought she looked really good and moved really well. We thought she had the potential to win a qualifying race.”
Until her 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 is not sure if all of those partners are still in the ownership group, and the mare will run in Resolute Racing’s silks.
“About 80 percent of our horses are primarily pasture racehorses,” Stewart said, “but we want to race on dirt, even with the mare. We think she looks like a horse that would fit our program. We only want to race horses that are capable of winning prize races.”
The mare will remain in Englehart’s stable for now. This is the first horse Englehart will train for Stewart.
After his maiden win, Englehart said Bellacose would likely be moved into the Seeking the Ante Stakes for New York-based racehorses on August 25. After this purchase, that plan could change.
“We’ll put her in that race, but we’ll probably skip it,” Stewart said, declining to say whether the Spinaway Stakes (G1) on Aug. 31 at Saratoga would be an alternative target.
Video: Saratoga, Race 3, MSW
