Gold Standard’s banner mare Sheeza Belter to be sold by Magic Millions
Juvenile Group 1 winner set to come under domestic and international buyers’ microscope in virtual auction
Group 1-winning two-year-old Sheeza Belter (Gold Standard), the Western Australian filly who displayed her immense talent on both sides of the country, is expected to command international breeders’ attention when she goes under the virtual hammer next week.
The rags-to-riches racing story of the Gold Standard (Sebring) mare, who was bought by Justin Warwick in the days after the 2021 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale after he initially bid on the wrong horse, officially came to a close yesterday with the decision by her owners and trainer Annabel Neasham to retire the four-year-old.
She will be offered for sale at 3pm (AEST) on Thursday, October 5, via Magic Millions’ virtual bidding platform, the same online bidding system used at all Magic Millions live auctions. Auctioneer Clint Donovan will preside over the sale process from its commencement.
Managing owner Warwick, a former prominent Western Australian trainer, said Sheeza Belter had shown she was ready for “the next stage of her life” after her below par performance when finishing last in Saturday’s Golden Pendant (Gr 2, 1400m) at Rosehill.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse, really. She took average people to the top of the tree, so she carried us a long way,” Warwick told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“But she was starting to show obvious wear and tear for a horse who has been racing since she was two. Her last two runs haven’t been good.
“If we kept racing her, I think we were going to devalue her. We were going to sell her next May in the Magic Millions auction, but that’s been brought forward because I can’t see her being competitive at Group 1 level again.”
Sheeza Belter, a $50,000 purchase by Warwick after she was initially passed in, won two of her three starts for Ascot trainer Luke Fernie, including the Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), before being transferred to the Sydney stables of Peter and Paul Snowden.
In her ten subsequent starts for the Randwick-based trainers, she won a BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and the JJ Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m) as a juvenile, before returning at three to claim the Hot Danish Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and while she also finished third in the Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1500m).
After an aborted late autumn preparation, which followed her placing in the feature Rosehill mares’ Group 1 race, the owners, headed by Warwick, chose to transfer her to Neasham, who gave her just one race start.
“She travelled from one side of Australia to the other when Covid was on. She couldn’t get on a plane, so she went from Perth to Brisbane in a truck and she still beat the best that was on offer for a million dollars, twice,” Warwick said.
“She’s tough, she’s big, she’s athletic and you wouldn’t find a better looking mare.”
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said Sheeza Belter had raced against elite company throughout her career.
“She showed ability right from the start of her career in Perth and just kept getting better. What she was able to achieve in just 15 starts, with earnings of over $1.88 million, is quite remarkable,” Bowditch said.
“Sheeza Belter possessed a powerful sprint. It was this turn of foot that often propelled her from midfield or further back, to being in front in what seemed a few strides.”
Sheeza Belter is a daughter of the juvenile winner Saxabelle (Saxon), while her second dam is Fuji Kiseki (Sunday Silence) mare Kiseki Belle, whose daughter Special Kiseki (Special Bond) has produced stakes winners Special Reward (Demerit), Showy Chloe (Alfred Nobel) and El Rijes (Eternity Range).
“I had numerous people enquire about her, but Magic Millions has been good to me,” Warwick said.
“When I bought her, I couldn’t pay for her, so they carried me until I could, so it’s a loyalty thing and it makes me feel better knowing that I’ve repaid the favour.”
As for the story of how Warwick bought Sheeza Belter, he bid on Lot 59, a colt by War Chant (Danzig), believing it was Lot 60, the Mt Hallowell Stud-consigned daughter of Gold Standard, and he was knocked down for $40,000.
It was only when his breaker rang him a few days later to provide an update about his new colt that he realised his error.
To his good fortune, after a conversation with Magic Millions’ David Houston, he discovered that Lot 60 was passed in and he was able to negotiate to buy her privately for $50,000.
Warwick quipped yesterday: “I bid on the wrong one and I knew which one I wanted to buy, so I had to go and buy her twice. I am glad I did.”