Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Bellezza Nera, an easy winner of the 2130m Jeans For Genes Day Pace at Gloucester Park, is bred to be successful on the racetrack.
The WA-bred six-year-old is the second foal out of former smart pacer Elena S, who won twice in New Zealand and was successful at six of her first eight starts for trainer-reinsman Grant Williams in 2010 before being retired after nine wins, 20 placings and $97,549 from 59 starts.
Elena S’s first foal is Major Pocket (by Art Major) who earned $388,236 from 29 wins and 69 placings from 173 starts. Major Pocket won 13 races in Western Australia before travelling to America in December 2019 where he won another 16 races.
As a two-year-old in 2016 Major Pocket finished second to The Real Ideal in the Westbred Classic for colts and geldings and second to Mitch Maguire in the Golden Slipper.
Bellezza Nera, bred and owned by Rob Tomlinson’s Oz-West Pacing, has earned $104,962 from nine wins and 29 placings from 77 starts.
Bellezza Nera was a $6.80 chance from the No. 5 barrier on Friday night when trainer Dylan Egerton-Green got him away speedily and raced three wide without cover for the first 450m before gaining an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, after $17 chance Eton Rock moved to the breeze outside the pacemaker and $1.95 favourite Winegum.
Egerton-Green got to the front with Bellezza Nera on the home turn and the gelding dashed away to win by two lengths from $5.50 chance Benji, who sustained a powerful burst from last at the bell. Illawong Mustang, a stablemate of the winner and driven by Trent Wheeler, raced three back on the pegs before finishing on to be third.
“I went three wide early with Bellezza Nera, not to lead but hoping to get the one-one sit,” said Egerton-Green. “I didn’t bustle him out of the gate because I didn’t think I could cross Winegum. And everything worked out well.”