Thursday, 2nd May 2024
All enquiries - Gary Knowles 0406 599 773
Champion mare Melody Belle (Commands-Meleka Belle, by Iffraaj) created a piece of New Zealand racing history at Ellerslie on Saturday when she strode to victory in the Gr1 Bonecrusher NZ Stakes (2000m), her fourteenth win at the elite level, according to racingnews.co.nz. Surpassing the mighty Sunline (Desert Sun-Songline, by Western Symphony) for the most Group 1 wins in the modern era for a New Zealand-trained galloper. The 6YO daughter of Commands had attracted her share of doubters as to whether she could produce another elite victory after being beaten at Te Rapa over the same distance in the G1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) last month, however showed her most recent down-the-field finish to be an aberration. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, trainer Jamie Richards said, “All of the talk that she wasn’t going well enough and all that crap, well she is a champion and champions bounce back. This is her farewell tour, but I’m not too sure just where she will go from here.” Richards revealed, “We are looking at races in Sydney and in Brisbane; 2000m is her pet trip now, so we will be targeting races like that for her.” Bred by thoroughbred racing and breeding identity Marie Leicester, Melody Belle was a $57,500 purchase by David Ellis at the 2016 Premier Yearling sale at Karaka from the Haunui Farm draft for owners, the Fortuna Melody Belle syndicate. Her career record now stands at nineteen wins and seven placings from 38 starts with all bar one of her career wins coming at stakes level. Those triumphs include 13 New Zealand Gr1 victories plus the Gr1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington for $4.24m in total prizemoney.
