Melody Belle back in action
Te Akau Racing will ramp up their Sistema Railway (1200m) offensive when Group One winners Heroic Valour and Melody Belle tackle Saturday’s Ray White NZ 1200m at Ellerslie.
The Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards-trained pair will use the open handicap as their lead-up to the feature sprint, run under set weights and penalties conditions on January 1.
Melody Belle is currently a $9 equal second favourite for the Railway, with Heroic Valour on third line of betting at $12 in a TAB futures market headed by last year’s winner Start Wondering at $7.
A winner of the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and the Gr.2 QTC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) to earn the title of last year’s champion two-year-old, Melody Belle goes into Saturday’s race fresh.
Heroic Valour, also a Group One winner at two, has begun his four-year-old season with a fifth placing in the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa and a last-start third in the Listed Counties Bowl (1100m).
"He’s come through that race really well. We’re very pleased with him," Richards said.
"He’s a good-doing Fastnet Rock colt who thrives with racing, hence why he’s having another race on Saturday. This race is a nice fit as it’s three weeks before the Railway and hopefully he should be peaking for that race fourth-up.
"Although he didn’t win as a three-year-old, his form was very good. He ran terrific all season but just let us down with that last run. He was third in the 2000 Guineas and second in the Gold Coast Guineas and to be fair to him, his form has been good all the way through."
Melody Belle has trialled twice leading up to her three-year-old debut, placing in a Cambridge
935m open heat before winning a
1000m open trial at Avondale last month in the hands of Saturday’s jockey Michael McNab, that day beating subsequent Listed Counties Bowl (1100m) winner Fully Funded.
"Her trials have been very good and that’s been franked through Fully Funded winning," Richards said.
"Her coat took a little while to turn after Brisbane, coming back to the cold. She’s always been a real racehorse. She just wants to get on with the job, doesn’t have a lot of patience. Rather than waiting five minutes, she wants to do it now.
"Her work was good on Tuesday and we expect her to run very well. She’s a class filly and while this isn’t an easy task, we’d be disappointed if she didn’t run one, two or three."
Fortuna Syndications director John Galvin, the racing manager for Melody Belle, said the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on January 27 was the Commands filly’s primary target.
❚ Craig Grylls has settled comfortably into the Singapore racing scene.
The New Zealand jockey joined the riding ranks at Kranji in July and the 27-year-old has been pleased with his subsequent progress.
‘‘I’ve been up there for five months and it’s going well,’’ Grylls said. ‘‘I’ve ridden nine winners and it’s taken a while to break into a new place but the better quality rides have been coming.
‘‘I like the lifestyle, no travelling and racing twice a week in a nice, hot climate.
‘‘I’m licenced to ride there until June 30 and I’m hoping to get it extended, I’ll be putting in another application.’’
Grylls, whose father Gary rode at the old Bukit Timah course there in the 1980s, will mix business with pleasure during his brief return to New Zealand.
‘‘They don’t race again in Singapore until January 1 so it’s a nice chance to come home,’’ he said.
His mounts at Ellerslie on Saturday include the Graham Richardson and Gavin Parker-trained Xbox in the Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m).
‘‘Graham knew I was coming back and got in touch and I’m happy to be on him,’’ he said.
‘‘I rode him in his first start when he ran third. I’ve watched his races since, he’s a nice horse and drawn a good gate.’’
Xbox was an impressive winner three runs back and then performed creditably when sixth in the Gr.2 Sarten Memorial (1400m).
Last time out he was held up and bumped in the run home before finishing fourth against the older horses at Tauranga.
Grylls has ridden more than 700 New Zealand winners.