Te Akau's "Season That Was" continues ...

The 14th of the Te Akau team's 18 stakes' race victories of the New Zealand season was one of the seven Group 1's Jamie Richards and the team recorded - and it was the 'Belle of the Ball' - Melody Belle back at her very Group 1 best ... with Group 1 win Number 4 for the season (taking her career tally to five Group 1's) ...

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 23 February 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. It was her 10^thwin from 19 starts, with earnings topping $1.5 million for owners in the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin).

“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 and 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,” Galvin said. “There was some confidence, but not one-hundred percent confidence.”

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^ndthis season for trainer Jamie Richards, to lead the premiership in wins and prize money (heading towards $3 million), and his 14^thstakes 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.”

Melody Belle was strapped by Teina Walters.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz

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