Tough She’s Bulletproof gains deserved stakes breakthrough
She’s Bulletproof (Shooting To Win) gave her West Australian-based sire a shot in the arm by becoming a black type winner in Saturday’s Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Sandown.
Though slightly easy at $4, the Charlotte Littlefield–trained mare was always travelling smoothly for Mark Zahra just off the pace, and pounced in strong style in the last 200 metres to win going away by 2.8 lengths.
The victory put a black type lining on a career of great promise, giving her four wins along with six placings from 11 starts. It also made up for a somewhat frustrating campaign which has essentially carried over from the spring, featuring a Moonee Valley Benchmark 80 (1200m) win by six lengths, alongside three narrow second placings, two of those at stakes level.
She’s Bulletproof became the 12th individual stakes winner, from 412 runners, for Shooting To Win (Northern Meteor), who stands at WA’s Oakland Park Stud for $9,900, having been transferred there from Darley in 2022.
The 13-year-old stallion, who won the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in 2014, has had one other stakes winner this season in McHale, who took Randwick’s Bill Ritchie Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) in September.
Shooting To Win has sired two Group 1 winners in New Zealand’s Mascarpone and Dom To Shoot, who took Perth’s Northerly Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m).
In a Bellmaine trifecta for unsung sires, the Michael Hickmott-trained Fancify (Niagara) took second at $7, with Matthew Williams’s Wrote To Arataki (Wrote) third at $21.
She’s Bulletproof’s win was celebrated by trainer and part-time racing media identity Littlefield, who prepared her first stakes winner little more than a month ago when Regal Vow (Swear) took Caulfield’s Lord Stakes (Listed, 1600m).
“My heart is nearly bursting through my chest,” Littlefield said after Mark Zahra partnered the mare to a convincing victory.
“This horse is very special to us. We have a big group of very close friends and family in her, so it’s really rewarding to get this horse to win today. It means so much.
“She thoroughly deserved it. She’s put her hand up several times, and just a few things we’ve changed around to get her to peak today and it’s all come to fruition. She didn’t just win, she won very well.”
Littlefield said she’d had to work to take weight off She’s Bulletproof, after the four-year-old had “just got away from us a little” before her last-start second in the Black Pearl Stakes (Listed, 1200m) at Geelong.
A “big doer”, She’s Bulletproof had had to have her feed dropped from six to four kilograms per day, Littlefield said. More roughage in the mare’s diet, increased swimming and some harder work had also paid dividends on Saturday.
“I’m not normally known as a trainer who works them too hard, but she’s been worked pretty hard this girl, and we’ve had to,” she said.
“Every horse is different. You’ve just got to tailor everything to every horse, and she’s taught me a lot, this horse.”
The homebred She’s Bulletproof is the sixth and best foal out of Offshore Sham (Shamardal), whose third foal was the Group 3-placed Exceltic (Excelebration). The 17-year-old Offshore Sham, who won once at Hawkesbury in five starts, has had no live foals since She’s Bulletproof, according to the stud book, but was covered last September by Darley’s Cylinder (Exceed And Excel).
Bellmaine second favourite Miraval Rose (Grunt) disappointed in sixth place, just ahead of former boom filly Coeur Volante (Proisir), who was 5.2 lengths off the winner in what was her first run since last June.