Bella Nipotina returns to Flemington for Darley Champions Sprint

Despite being seven years of age, the Ciaron Maher-trained mare has turned in career peak after career peak in 2024, having won four races, including The Everest, Tatt’s Tiara and Doomben 10,000 at Group 1 level, plus the $3m Russell Balding Stakes, to lift her earnings beyond $20m.

But this Saturday’s $3m Group 1 Darley Champions Sprint (1200m) presents possibly her biggest challenge of the year.

The daughter of Pride Of Dubai is backing up after winning the Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill for the second year in a row, with the Darley Champions Sprint to be her first start in Melbourne start since finishing fourth in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) in March.

Her only unplaced run since then was also a fourth placing, in The Quokka (1200m), with her worst finish in eight starts since that Perth race being a third placing in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.

Those eight most recent runs races were all run the clockwise direction.

Her William Reid fourth followed a fifth in the Yulong Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and a fourth placing in the Black Caviar Lightning (1000m), which were her first starts since a fifth placing in last year’s Darley Champions Stakes.

Bella Nipotina has not placed in Melbourne since her second placing in last year’s William Reid Stakes, 21 runs ago, while her maiden Group 1 win in the 2022 Manikato Stakes was her last win in Victoria.

She ran to a Timeform rating of 120 that day, the same number she posted when second to Imperatriz in last year’s William Reid Stakes, which are her equal highest figures recorded in Melbourne.

Bella Nipotina went 123 at her past two starts, while her five next-best Timeform runs were right-handed.

Her peak rating at Flemington is 117, figures she returned in this year’s Newmarket Handicap and the Lightning.

In 10 starts at Australia’s most famous racetrack her best result is a second placing in the Inglis Dash when trained by Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes, while she also owns three third placings.

That previous best Flemington rating would have been good enough to win only one Darley Champions Sprint since it took up residence on Final Day in 2007 – the 2022 edition that Roch ‘N’ Horse won in 116.

The next-lowest winning rating is Swick’s 120 with the average winning rating required since 2007 being 125.35.