Brightside and Bellatrix hoist the flag for Dunlop's Phoenix Park

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Janine Dunlop’s Waikato-based operation, Phoenix Park, had much to celebrate on Saturday at Flemington.

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The Rise and Rise of Dundeel

The boutique property is no stranger to success with its graduates, but to have two runners represented during the spring carnival - one being the Champion Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars), who secured his seventh Group 1 victory and second consecutive G1 Makybe Diva S., and the other Bellatrix Star (Star Witness), a Group 2 winner in New Zealand and now the victress of the Listed Cap D’Antibes S. - is truly rare air.

The Thoroughbred Report caught up with a jubilant Dunlop, who was en route to bloodstock agent John Chalmers’ birthday party. She exclaimed, “What a great result! That’s the best advertising - getting winners on the track like this.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years, preparing horses for sales and managing agistment at Phoenix Park. It’s been wonderful, you’ve got to have the right people supporting you, and along the way, you make lifelong friends. It’s a very exciting time in New Zealand; we have a fantastic breeding industry, and we punch well above our weight.”

A naughty brown pony

The Ben, Will, and JD Hayes-trained Mr Brightside will go down as one of racing’s great stories. A horse with a humble pedigree, he sold for a modest price, but the son of Bullbars possessed something no one could see until he started racing - courage and heart.

Mr Brightside has developed a cult following across Australasia, with 17 race victories, seven Group 1 wins, and over $14 million in prizemoney. For his connections, he’s truly a horse of a lifetime. Yet, this remarkable horse could have been yours for NZ$22,000 when offered by Phoenix Park and purchased by Phill Cataldo Bloodstock (BAFNZ) at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka May Sale.

He was later re-offered by Phoenix Park at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale but didn’t meet his NZ$50,000 reserve.

Reflecting on her time with a young Mr Brightside, Dunlop told TTR AusNZ, “He wasn’t ready for a January sale (New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale) and he just slotted in-between. So, he wasn’t a genuine January horse, and, at that stage, Mr Brightside was probably only a Book 2 or Book 3.

Gallery: Mr Brightside, images courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock

“Due to his pedigree, we decided to put him in the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka May Sale. There were only 15 or so horses in that sale, and NZ$22,000 was actually the top price. Phill Cataldo and myself bought him, I do quite a bit of work with Phill, and the plan was to send him to the late Laurie Laxon for the Ready to Run Sale.

“Laurie trained Empire Rose to win the Melbourne Cup and was a nine-time Champion Trainer in Singapore, but that didn’t work out. As a young horse, Mr Brightside would hold his coat like he still does in November, and Bullbars wasn’t exactly the fashion of the week either, so it’s been a bit of a hard case story all the way through.”

Dunlop added, “He was naughty! He was such a naughty brown pony. That’s how I’ve always described him. He was a real character, but very good-looking and very, very sound. Mr Brightside has been out of my system since he was two and a half, but he was always a very correct horse and great looking.

“I mean, when they win, they look even better. He’s been beautifully managed by the Hayes boys; they’ve done such a great job with their team.”

Rub of the green

Bellatrix Star, another graduate of Phoenix Park, was presented by the operation at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, where she was secured by David Ellis (CNZM) (BAFNZ) and Fortuna Racing for NZ$80,000.

Trained by Mark Walker, the daughter of Star Witness was one of New Zealand’s finest 2-year-olds last season, winning the G2 Eclipse S. She was then sent to Te Akau Racing’s stables at Cranbourne, Australia, where she finished fifth in her first-up run in the G3 Quezette S. during her Australian debut.

On Saturday, the filly showed sharp improvement, dominating a competitive field of fillies to claim victory in the Listed Cap D’Antibes S.

Dunlop remarked, “John Galvin doesn’t race a huge number of horses, but he does a great job with Fortuna Racing and Te Akau Racing. They buy at all different levels of the market and achieve some sensational results.”

Adding to the excitement, Dunlop shared, “Funnily, my mother has a share in Bellatrix Star as well. She’s raced a few horses before with Fortuna Racing and was part of the partnership that owned 14-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle.”

Bellatrix Star is a daughter of Widden Stud’s Group 1-producing sire Star Witness, out of the Exceed And Excel mare Alana’s Party, herself a daughter of the Group 1 winner The Party Stand (NZ) (Thorn Park). Dunlop explained, “When I received Bellatrix Star, Star Witness wasn’t as fashionable, but he can produce a racehorse, and that’s what matters.

“Mark Pilkington sent her to me to sell, and he put NZ$80,000 on her – and he got it. Perhaps he could have put NZ$100,000 on her and might have got that too, but any sale that meets the reserve is a good sale, I suppose.

“It’s worked out well for Mark, and he has retained the mare (Alana’s Party), so he’ll get the rub of the green in the future, and he's got three nice yearlings coming over for the sales soon.”

Dunlop gearing up for Ready to Run

Next up for Dunlop’s Phoenix Park is the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, where she will present 13 2-year-olds. This diverse draft includes progeny by Wootton Bassett (GB) (Lot 191), Ace High (Lot 124), and Sweynesse (Lot 183), along with progeny by first-season sires such as Bivouac (Lot 246), Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Lot 145), and Hello Youmzain (Fr) (Lot 255), whose first Northern Hemisphere-bred runners have started well.

Phoenix Park has a rich history of success, having sold Hong Kong’s Champion Miler Able One (NZ) (Cape Cross {Ire}) at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale in the past.

“The New Zealand-bred racehorses really do punch above their weight on the world stage,” said Dunlop. “I’ve had six individual Group 1 winners come out of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale alone, including a Champion Miler in Hong Kong.

"It’s such a good sale, and it’s recognised worldwide. Certainly, in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the biggest 2-year-old sale by a long shot. I’ve got a good mix of stallions represented, but the best thing about them is that they’re all quality types.

“There’s a Sweynesse colt, and he’s got the best sprinter in Hong Kong, the World Champion Sprinter Lucky Sweynesse, so there will definitely be a market for him.

“But the most important thing is their physicality. They all have nice pedigrees, though there may be some better-bred horses in the sale. However, if you just focus on their physical attributes, they’re athletic and correct. They tick all the boxes, otherwise, I wouldn’t be putting them through x-rays and scopes. People will be buying a good, genuine article.”

When asked if she had any early favourites among her offerings, Dunlop responded, “Probably the one that might slip under the radar a bit is the King Of Comedy colt out of a mare called Navy Beach.

"He’s a half-brother to Wolfgang, who won brilliantly the other day, and I just feel he might go unnoticed. He’s a really good physical type, very correct, and he ticks a lot of boxes. He’s brown, but unlike Mr Brightside, he’s not naughty!”

Lot 89 is from the first crop of King Of Comedy (Ire), a Listed-winning son of Kingman (GB), who was placed in the G1 St James’s Palace S. The colt is out of the Darci Brahma (NZ) mare Navy Beach (NZ), the dam of Wolfgang (NZ) (Puccini {NZ}), a four-time winner and Group 3-placed runner. Another sibling, Naval Fleet (NZ) (Declaration Of War {USA}), won three races and was placed in the Listed Otago Breeders’ S.

Phoenix Park has focused on quality over quantity in recent years. Dunlop explained, “We aim for 14 Book 1 yearlings at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale and around a similar number for the Ready To Run Sale. So, we’re not selling huge numbers, but our track results have been very good.

“I’ve reduced the numbers over the years, mainly due to staffing. But taking 14 quality Book 1 horses is the goal. We had one filly in the top 10 in January, and we always seem to be around the top 10 at Karaka and the Ready to Run.

“For a small outfit, we do well. You can do all the media in the world, but at the end of the day, it’s the result on the track that matters, and I’m thrilled.”

Dunlop is also excited about the future of the New Zealand breeding industry, with a host of promising young stallions and incentives from organisations like Entain. “It’s great to see so many young stallions, especially at Rich Hill Stud, really stepping up.

“It’s fantastic to see other stud farms achieving big results as well. There’s been a lot of positives in New Zealand lately.”