Melody Belle makes history
Megastar Melody Belle earned two slices of New Zealand racing history on Saturday with another commanding performance in the Group I Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings.
She became the first horse to complete Hawke’s Bay’s weightfor-age Triple Crown during the Bostock New Zealand Spring Carnival – the Tarzino Trophy (1400m), Windsor Park Plate (1600m) and Livamol Classic. Eight horses had previously won two of the three.
It was also the ninth Group I win of Melody Belle’s glittering career, a record number in New Zealand.
She had previously shared that record with Mufhasa, who won eight in New Zealand and another two in Melbourne.
Five of Melody Belle’s Group One wins came during an allconquering 2018-19 season, which earned her a near-unanimous vote of Horse of the Year.
The Commands mare has begun the 2019-20 season in the same vein, easily defending her titles in the Tarzino Trophy and Windsor Park Plate. She was the $1.30 favourite to make history in Saturday’s Livamol, and she did not disappoint.
Rider Opie Bosson settled her in midfield beside the rail as Mongolian Marshal and Peso went to the front in the early stages. Mauna Kea charged forward to take a clear lead into the back straight, then Peso worked back up alongside him to regain control.
Bosson moved Melody Belle out into clear air with more than 1200 metres to run, and she cruised forward to slide into second place at the top of the home straight.
It was plain sailing from there as Melody Belle swept past a brave Peso, opening up to win by three and a half lengths in front of a delighted Hastings crowd.
‘‘She’s such a darling,’’ Bosson said. ‘‘We got bumped around a little bit in the first half of the race, but I ended up getting her out of trouble and then she just cruised into it. I just love her.
‘‘To win these three Group One races at 1400, 1600 and 2040 metres, it takes an amazing horse and an amazing training effort by Jamie Richards. It’s a big team effort, from David Ellis buying all these lovely horses to all of the staff involved. I’m just the pilot.’’
Emotional members of the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate flooded into the winners’ circle after the race, watched by proud manager John Galvin.
‘‘Before the race, I said that we were standing on the crest of history – now we’ve done it,’’ Galvin said. ‘‘It’s an amazing feeling to have completed this very elusive Triple Crown.’’
Meanwhile, the Te Akau stables also had plenty to celebrate across the Tasman with Te Akau Shark running a close second to Kolding in the $1m Epsom Handicap at Randwick and Probabeel also coming second in another group one event, the Darley Flight Stakes.