Melody Belle - Horse of the Year & Champion Sprinter/Miler

A good thing, a sure bet, certainty, are some of the things that cannot be guaranteed in horse racing, but rest assured that Melody Belle  (5 m Commands - Meleka Belle, by Iffraaj) looked the winner a long way from home when it came to Horse of the Year honours.

Winning Five Group One last season - six including the Sires' Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) when crowned Champion Two-Year-Old - and now seven with the recent Tarzino Trophy (Gr. 1, 1400m) at Hastings, Melody Belle is the current Queen of the Turf in New Zealand.

Purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis as a yearling for $57,500 at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale, from the draft of Haunui Farm for breeder Marie Leicester, she has now won 12 of her 22 starts and $1.74 million in prize money for owners in the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin).

Beautifully managed by Fortuna Syndications owner John Galvin, trainer Jamie Richards, and David Ellis, the season for Melody Belle stretched from her fresh-up win of the Foxbridge Plate (Gr. 2, 1200m) in August at Te Rapa, to ending her stellar season in March with victory in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (Gr. 1, 2000m) at Ellerslie. In between times, she won the Tarzino Trophy (Gr. 1, 1400m) and Windsor Park Plate (Gr. 1, 1600m) at Hastings, the BCD Group Sprint (Gr. 1, 1400m) at Te Rapa, and Haunui Farm Classic (Gr. 1, 1600m) at Otaki.

In addition, Melody Bellewas named Champion Sprinter-Miler, in a category that Te Akau was also represented by Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle).

“It's a very proud moment,” Galvin said. “I'm excited, proud, humbled, and this is the sort of thing you dream about to own a horse like this, with all the wonderful success she's had. And she's not done yet, as we saw last week. 

Asked how Melody Belle had come through the recent brilliant victory to defend her Tarzino Trophy (Gr. 1, 1400m) title at Hastings, Galvin said: “Beautifully. She had a couple of quiet days in the paddock and now she's back in work. Her strapper, Mette (Mosebo), mentioned to me that she's so much stronger this year and right on target to head to Hastings on 21^stSeptember (to defend her Windsor Park Plate title).

Success again for Melody Belle in the Windsor would open the door to completing the Hawkes Bay ‘Triple Crown' in the Livamol Classic (Gr. 1, 2040m) on 5 October. “It's never been done and there's been a hell of a lot of good horses that have tried and failed,” Galvin said. “So, for us, our focus is on the Triple Crown and we haven't given any thought to anything beyond that at this stage. If we could win it, it would not only be good for us but great for New Zealand racing. She's such a well loved horse Melody Belle and we'd just love to see her deliver for a big legion of fans.”

Recapping the Fortuna success with Te Akau Racing, Galvin said: “Going back to 2003, I got involved with David Ellis, who bought my first horse for me. That was Kapsdan, who was a Group winner, and then I took shares in Darci Brahma, and that's a story in its own. Because of thrills I'd had, that motivated me, as a part-owner of Darci Brahma, so in 2007 I started Fortuna and we've had about 170 winners together since then. We've had some really good horses. Tell A Tale was a Group One winner and we've had other stakes winners, but Melody Belle, of course, is an out and out champion.

“It's important to mention that David and I go back 16 years. We've never missed a beat with our relationship and association. There have been some wonderful trainers over the years at Te Akau. Mark (Walker), of course, who is now with Te Akau in Singapore, and now Jamie, who is a rising star. He and I work very closely together and it's great to be involved. And, it's also important to mention that Melody Belle is not their first Horse of the Year in the past 12 months, because they also won the Singapore Horse of the Year with Elite Invincible.”

Overall, Melody Belle became the fifth Horse of the Year for Te Akau.

Trainer Jamie Richards said:

“We never take it for granted to have these good horses. For Dave to buy her for $57,500 and John to syndicate her and get such a great group of people involved, it's a pleasure to accept the accolades.”

Having arrived home a day earlier from a European and across Africa adventure holiday, John and Gail Davis were amongst the group of owners there to celebrate her successes.

“It was a fantastic season and I've never known a horse to do that,” said Gail, having owned, ridden work, and strapped Lord Reims (Zamazaan), who has his own Wikipedia page after being trained by Cliff Fenwick to win a Caulfield Cup and three Adelaide Cups.

“It's so gratifying that we've got part of her. I was very lucky, actually, because after her first race win at Ruakaka, John said there was still some shares left in this horse so I snapped up some more. 

“When I first saw her I thought she was a plain filly and not very big, but she had the right attributes, like good canons, power, depth of chest, and just looked like a racehorse. She had big nostrils to take in the air and, to me, just looked like a natural.

“Jamie's training of her has been absolutely tip-top. Training has changed drastically since my day, but Jamie is top-notch and we can't fault him. He really reads his horses and knows what they want and need. The communications are incredible and Jamie is always there, never too busy to speak to any of us, just wonderful, and a true horseman and gentleman.”

Te Akau principal David Ellis said: “I was so thrilled for all of our staff that was there at the awards. They got home early this morning, but they were all still there at 3.30 a.m. looking after the horses and, to me, the Horse of the Year award is a credit to their hard work.

“Melody Belle has been unbelievably well looked after by Nicole Shailer and Mason Stevens, who are in charge of that stable. And there are lots of really good people behind it all. Our blacksmith, Gareth Allis, our vets Dougas Black and Ronan Costello, the people that supply our horse feed: Dunstan and Dave Smith. There are so many parts that go into the equation, so much hard work, both at the racing stables and at Te Akau Stud. 

“It's a lot of pressure looking after a mare like her and they've all done it superbly. It is a big thrill, because there's only one Horse of the Year and it's not any easy thing to win. We've had horses that have won multiple awards, but to get the Horse of the Year is something else.

“It's great that I was able to buy her at the Karaka Sale, that I love supporting, out of Book 1, from a great farm (Haunui), and great for her breeder Marie Leicester. Melody Belle is from the famous Star Belle family. I think Star Belle won 22 races for Jim and Annie Sarten, Marie's parents, so there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, over many years, to achieve this and it was a wonderful result for so many people.”

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