Melody Belle shines in the rain
‘‘To be fair to the people that do the form, she hadn’t really beaten a lot but she can only beat what’s in front of her and she’d been doing it quite easily.’’ Melody Belle trainer Jamie Richards
As racegoers hid under umbrellas on a rainy Saturday at Flemington in Melbourne, New Zealand mare Melody Belle thrived in wet conditions at the Empire Rose Stakes to give trainer Jamie Richards one of his biggest moments in the sport.
Richards, who trained Te Akau Shark to a second in the Epsom and a third in the Cox Plate before Melody Belle’s group 1 victory on Saturday, said his mare had a point to prove after being under-rated by Australian form analysts.
‘‘To be fair to the people that do the form, she hadn’t really beaten a lot but she can only beat what’s in front of her and she’d been doing it quite easily,’’ Richards said.
‘‘We were quietly confident she was going to run well. She’d had a good prep, back to a mile, four weeks suited her, [jockey] Opie [Bosson] just gave her a lovely ride and she won well.’’
The Kiwi hoop settled out the back on Melody Belle, but she slung into the straight full of running and made her move inside the 300 metres, catching Aristia in the final 100 metres to score a convincing victory.
‘‘She’s a good mare and she enjoys these conditions,’’ Richards said.
‘‘[The rain] was just going to slow some of the others down more than it was her, so [it’s] awesome.
‘‘It’s a big thrill to get one because we’ve been knocking on the door a little bit but good to get the monkey off the back.’’
Bosson said he was confident throughout the race.
‘‘I was always travelling beautifully,’’ he said. ‘‘I was three deep the whole trip so she didn’t do it the easy way. She relaxed beautifully and turning for home she was revelling through the going and that was her chance.
‘‘I thought maybe we got there too soon but to her credit she can keep up a good, strong gallop.’’
Bosson, who also rode Te Akau Shark in the Cox Plate, said Melody Belle was among the best horses he’s ridden.
‘‘She is right up there,’’ he said. ‘‘To do it on both sides of the Tasman and win 10 group 1s, not many can do that.’’
Richards said both the Mackinnon and Matriarch Stakes over 2000m were options for her on Saturday.
Meanwhile, co-trainer Simon Zahra said he was rapt with the effort of his First Light Racing runner Aristia who went for home early, in a move [jockey Craig] Williams similarly made on Castelvecchio in the Cox Plate, before finishing 11⁄2 lengths back in second.
‘‘Craig rode to win the race, he was on a hot speed, went for home, tried to make that break and a huge effort,’’ Zahra said.
‘‘Obviously the winner was always our danger but Craig went out there on a plan to try and beat the winner, took a fair way to get her but couldn’t be prouder of her effort, it was huge.
‘‘The two races we had her marked for were today and either the Mackinnon or the Matriarch,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ll nom]inate] for that for next Saturday and she’ll improve again off today; she wasn’t fully wound up so we’re absolutely over the moon.’’
Meanwhile, Kiwi horse Long Jack faded to seventh in the Victoria Derby after setting the pace. Having drawn wide, Long Jack’s jockey Craig Williams headed straight to the front to give his charge the best chance but the long Flemington straight found her out.