Another Group 1 for our Belle

The consummate professional, Melody Belle (4 m Commands - Meleka Belle, by Iffraaj) took another step towards Horse of the Year honours with a dominant victory in the $200,000 Haunui Farm WFA Group One Classic (1600m) on Saturday at Otaki.

Purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis for $57,500 at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale, from the draft of Haunui Farm, the Champion Two-Year-Old recorded her fifth Group One win - four of those this season.

“I remember when I bought Melody Belle,” Ellis said. “I was the only person that had a bid and it's one of the best days of business Te Akau has ever done. Jamie and I liked her, we bought her together, she's bred by a terrific breeder in Marie Leicester and she's become a hugely valuable filly.

“She's exactly the sort of horse I'm trying to buy. A horse that can win races in the autumn as a two-year-old, then train on to be better as a three-year-old and four-year-old, and I think Melody Belle could be even better next season at five.”

Unassailable through the spring with a hat-trick on yielding tracks, including the Tarzino Trophy (Gr. 1, 1400 metres) and Windsor Park Plate (Gr. 1, 1600m), Melody Belle has always appreciated getting her toe into the ground and once again looked to relish the Slow8 conditions.

Intent on keeping the leaders in his sights, despite drawing wide, rider Opie Bosson had Melody Belle travelling sweetly in sixth before taking closer order at the 800m and after ranging four wide rounding the home turn she had the measure of her rivals at the 200m before going on to win emphatically by one and three-quarter lengths. 

“Here it is, five Group Ones for the glamour girl,” said commentator Tony Lee. “She's done it. She is the best in NZ, no doubting this girl. Probably didn't get all favours in the run, a little wide with no cover...and she's really been too good. You've just got to love her, she's a dream.”

A fortnight after winning the BCD Group Sprint (Gr. 1, 1400m) on Legends Day at Te Rapa, Melody continued her stellar season.

“She's amazing really and has been the benchmark horse of the season, I guess, but you've still got to get out there and do it,” said Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate manager John Galvin. “There was some confidence, but not one-hundred percent confidence.

“It's really special. If we said at the start of the season we could run in seven races and win five of them, a Group Two and four Group Ones, you wouldn't believe it. So it is very special.”

Paying $2.50 & $1.40 on the NZ TAB tote, after running the 1600 metres in 1.36.2, Melody Belle provided stable rider Opie Bosson with a milestone victory.

“It was another great ride and Opie (Bosson) has now won every Group One race in New Zealand,” Ellis said.

“He's probably only ridden half of the last 15 years because of weight issues, but he's as fit now as he's ever been and it's really showing. He was apprenticed to Te Akau, his sheer class has never been a factor, and I'm so proud to see him back and really enjoying the success. It means a lot to all of us.”

The win brought up the 72^nd this season for trainer Jamie Richards, to lead the premiership in wins and prize money (heading towards $3 million), and his 14^th stakes' victory.

“It underlines how well Te Akau Racing is being run,” Ellis said. “Jamie (Richards) sent two horses with Teina Walters to Otaki, they've both won impressively, and at Matamata, he quinelled the Two-Year-Old race (Waikato Stud Slipper (Gr. 3, 1200m)) and these results are unbelievably hard to achieve.

“You can only do it if you've got a really good team around you, all working well together, and it's an incredibly exciting time for us. We're developing a great team of people and results are the proof.”

Asked if securing a fourth Group One win this season would secure a Horse of the Year title for Melody Belle, Ellis said: “Last season no horse won more than one Group One race in New Zealand, but there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge. Our Karaka Million winner Probabeel, for example, is going to Australia for Group races, and it's too far out to be claiming a title but Melody Belle is certainly doing a great job.”

Melody Belle has now won 10 of her 19 starts, with earnings topping $1.5 million, and trainer Jamie Richards has immense gratitude for her presence in the stable.

“She's a terrific horse,” he said. “She really is quite amazing to do what she's done at two, three, and four, quite incredible. She's so honest, so sound, easy to train, and she's a champion to have around the stables.

“I'd like to thank all the team for the job they do looking after her, and especially Dave (Ellis) for buying her. To have her race so well throughout the season is testament to the job that they've done and the horse that she is. I'm really proud of her.

“It's great to get another win for John (Galvin). He's been a massive supporter of Te Akau through the years. 

“I thought that for her to win the race the way she did was a great demonstration of how well she's going. She's never sat in the clear like that, with maybe a couple of hundred metres of cover behind Bostonian, but not a lot, and to sit three and four deep the trip, near the speed, and keep up a really good gallop just showed that she's right in the zone.”

“She's earned a well-deserved break now and we're looking forward to next season with her,” Richards added.

Melody Belle was strapped by Teina Walters.

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