Top filly Bellatrix Star’s (Star Witness) autumn campaign has been aborted and her racing future is unclear after a freak accident at Cranbourne last week.
Mark Walker’s Group Two winner and Group One runner-up sustained a serious neck injury when she reared and fell while exiting the swimming pool after a routine piece of exercise.
Managing owner John Galvin said that while initial scans have confirmed several fractures, the injury appears stable and he will await further veterinary advice as to the filly’s long-term prospects.
“She had an accident as she was exiting the pool, she reared right over onto her back and fell heavily,” Galvin said.
“She was on the ground for 10 or 15 minutes, but she gradually got to her feet and was walked back to the box where she was examined by the vet and then X-rayed.
“She’s got fractures in her neck.
“The good news since is that she’s bright, she’s alert, she’s eating well and her vitals are good.
“Obviously, her autumn campaign that we had planned is out the window and it’s possible that she may never race again, but we don’t know that for sure at this stage.
“We’ve got a very good vet there, Matt Morahan, and I’ve spoken to our local Waikato vet, who was at the (Magic Millions) sales and, while it’s not a common injury, they’ve seen similar before.
“Whether she recovers well enough to be able to race again, we can’t be sure, but, obviously, given her race record to date, she’s got a fair value as a broodmare prospect, so that would be plan b if she couldn’t race again.”
A Group Two winner in New Zealand as a two-year-old, the Mark Walker-trained filly emerged as one of Australia’s premier sprinting three-year-olds with a strong of feature race wins over the spring, including the Gr.2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) against older horses.
She finished well from near-last to run second to Switzerland in the Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), before finishing down the track in the Gr.1 Champions Sprint (1200m).
Galvin said connections had been eyeing an ambitious summer and autumn campaign with the Gr.1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m), Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m), Gr.1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) and Gr.1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) all on the agenda.
