Tag: melody belle

Australia: Melody Belle’s Farewell Tour Of Australia

There are many American graded stakes races with their own rich history which now serve as preps for the Breeders' Cup. Similarly, Friday night's features at Rosehill have become stepping stones to The Championships at Randwick (April 9 & 16). The Group 1 Tancred Stakes  includes the Queen of New Zealand turf, Melody Belle, and other key contenders at The Championships. Be sure to catch all the action live on the new Sky Racing World App or watch on TVG (First Post: 9:45 p.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. PT).

The Tancred Stakes will be the first Australian stop on the farewell tour by mighty New Zealand mare Melody Belle, whose career is of elite status. Striking at a 50% win rate across 38 starts, she recently set a New Zealand record for most G1 wins (14) and will likely set another record when offered at public auction upon her retirement.

Now in the second half of her 6-year-old season, Melody Belle will appear in the catalog for the National Broodmare Sale at the Gold Coast on May 25, where she could attract global interest. Prior to the curtain coming down on her fabulous racetrack career, Melody Belle (5-1) will strive for a 15th G1 triumph in the Tancred, where she will be tested at 1 1/2 miles for the first time. Trainer Jamie Richards is adamant that his superstar mare, who has won from five and a half to ten furlongs, will appreciate the added distance in the twilight of her career. Between the Tancred Stakes and Broodmare Sale, plans call for Melody Belle to contest an undecided race during The Championships at Randwick, before a pair of races in Queensland – her swan song would be a mere three days prior to being auctioned.

Melody Belle will be ridden for the first time by James McDonald, fresh off winning last week's Ranvet Stakes on Verry Elleegant. In the space of a week, “J-Mac” is poised for G1 success on Australia's and New Zealand's best mares – and the 29-year-old would become the fastest rider in Australian history to reach 50 G1 wins. Chief opposition to Melody Belle in the Tancred is expected from Sir Dragonet (9-2) and Angel of Truth (7-1), who were left in the wake of Verry Elleegant and Addeybb in last week's spine-tingling Ranvet. (That pair will renew their intense rivalry on April 16 in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, showpiece race of The Championships and possible target for Melody Belle).

Trainer Peter Moody and jockey Luke Nolen, who enjoyed global fame thanks to the undefeated sprint phenomenon Black Caviar, combine again for the Australian debut of Irish stayer Nickajack Cave (18-1). In stark contrast to the dazzling speed of Black Caviar, each of Nickajack Cave's ten career races have been at 1 1/4 miles and beyond. Moody believes the horse can be competitive in the weight-for-age Tancred, but admits to still learning about him.

“This will give us a guide, as everything we are doing is to try and qualify him for the Melbourne Cup later this year,” he said.

Dreams of the world's biggest two-mile handicap are not misplaced, because Nickajack Cave defeated 2020 Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment at level weights last June in Ireland. The 5-year-old gray had previously finished two lengths behind Sir Dragonet, who won the Cox Plate in his Australian debut last October and is favorite for Friday's Tancred. Nickajack Cave (Irish-bred and now Australia-based, yet named for a cave in Tennessee!) has not raced since winning a G3 in his native land last August.

Moody and Nolen also have an intriguing presence in Friday's other G1 event, the Vinery Stud Stakes (Race 6). Princess Rhaenys (15-1) impressively broke her maiden at her second start, but at a relatively nondescript “provincial” track. Unusually in Australia, she competed at a mile off a layoff (19 weeks after debuting). Moody now thrusts her into a Group One at 1-1/4 miles, so obviously feels the filly is an untapped staying talent. Wagering is logically headed by Harmony Rose (9-5), returning to her own sex after a third place finish in the Randwick Guineas (runner-up Mo'unga subsequently won last week's Rosehill Guineas).

The Vinery Stud Stakes is the key prep race for the Australian Oaks at 1 1/2 miles during The Championships at Randwick. The Vinery's equivalent for colts and geldings is Friday's third race, the Tulloch Stakes, a final lead-up to the Australian Derby.

The Rosehill card will be broadcast live on TVG this Friday night (First Post: 9:45 p.m. ET / 6:45 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Kembla Grange, Gold Coast and Eagle Farm. All races will be live-streamed in HD on the new Sky Racing World App, skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, and AmWager. Wagering is also available via these ADW platforms. Fans can get free access to livestreaming, past performances and expert picks on all races at skyracingworld.com.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Wrona's vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Wrona also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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‘She Is A Champion’: Melody Belle’s 14th Group 1 Win Breaks New Zealand Record

Champion mare Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) created a piece of New Zealand racing history at Ellerslie on Saturday when she strode to victory in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher NZ Stakes (2000m, or 1 1/4 miles), her fourteenth win at the elite level, to surpass the mighty Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun) for the most Group One wins in the modern era for a New Zealand-trained galloper.

The 6-year-old daughter of Commands had attracted her share of doubters as to whether she could produce another Group One victory after being beaten at Te Rapa over the same distance in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes last month.

Never a truer word has been spoken than the age-old adage that form is temporary and class is permanent as the dual New Zealand Horse of The Year gave her seven rivals, including runner-up and stablemate Avantage (Fastnet Rock), a galloping lesson as she stormed home for rider Troy Harris to win going away by a length and spark some emotional scenes in the Ellerslie birdcage.

Trainer Jamie Richards was clearly affected by what he had just witnessed as he paid heartfelt tribute to his champion galloper.

“She is such a wonderful mare,” he 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.

“It wasn't her fault at Te Rapa and I'm just proud of her and the whole team.

“It was a fantastic win and I'm also just thrilled for Troy, it's just a feelgood story.

“I'm also really proud of Avantage and take nothing away from her today as she went down fighting.”

Richards will now shift his focus with Melody Belle to a final trans-Tasman raid before she is likely to be retired at the end of this campaign.

“She is sound, happy and easy to train and loves going about her business,” he said. “I'm really proud of her and she loves to prove people wrong.”

Bred by Thoroughbred racing and breeding identity Marie Leicester, Melody Belle was a $57,500 purchase by David Ellis CNZM 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 including 13 New Zealand Group One victories along with the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m, or six furlongs) at Flemington and over $4.24m in total prizemoney.

Melody Belle will continue her farewell tour in Sydney later this month, flying to Sydney next week in preparation for the Gr.1 Tancred Stakes (2400m, or 1 1/2 miles) at Rosehill.

“She is booked to fly on March 25 and she will be able to work that morning and go straight into the Tancred,” Fortuna Syndication's John Galvin said.

“The only reservation would be track conditions. If it was a really heavy track we might not want to race her at 2400m because it is the first time she would have raced at that distance.

“2000m is clearly her pet trip and she is pretty dominant at it from what we have seen.

“She is also nominated for the Queen Elizabeth (Gr.1, 2000m) and the Coolmore Legacy (Gr.1, 1600m), which are both on April 10 at Randwick.”

While looking forward to the Australian leg of her farewell tour, Galvin was left pondering on Monday the significance of his mare's accomplishments, after she brought the curtain down on her New Zealand racing career in the best possible fashion on Saturday.

“There were all sort of emotions on Saturday,” Galvin said. “The fact that it was her 14th Group One win and it was a magnificent occasion on Auckland Cup day at Ellerslie.

“Her previous start had led to a failure when she ran at Te Rapa in the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m), through no fault of her own, so there was an extra edge and pressure there.

“My main emotion was relief that once again we saw how good she was.

“It was fantastic to be there with the crowd, the weather, and the big group of owners, many of them were there and there was a lot of emotion.”

Galvin was also pleased to see jockey Troy Harris finalize his undefeated record on Melody Belle and continue his enviable strike-rate with Fortuna Syndicated horses.

“He is a lovely rider and rode her perfectly,” Galvin said. “He has had four rides for four wins on her, and that's five Group One rides and five wins for Troy on Fortuna horses. He has ridden for us 14 times in total, for 11 wins. It is a pretty good strike-rate.”

Melody Belle has become the flagbearer for the syndicator, and Galvin said she will be sorely missed when she retires at the end of this campaign.

“She is a flagship race mare for us,” he said. “We did have Tell A Tale who was a Group One winner and top three-year-old. This girl has taken it to another level, so it has been really important for us.

“My wife, Jessica, has got a share in Melody Belle, so that has been particularly important for us as a family, with our young children. She is a favorite amongst the household.”

With Melody Belle raced by a syndicate of 34 people, the glamour mare will be sold at the conclusion of her racing career in the coming months before she heads to the broodmare paddock.

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Australia: Reigning Horses Of The Year Melody Belle and Nature Strip At Flemington

Two reigning Horses of the Year headline a pair of excellent Group 1 races in Melbourne, while early season 2-year-olds are “gifted” a million-dollar purse in Sydney this Friday night. The fourth and final day of the “Melbourne Cup Carnival” at Flemington coincides with Rosehill's $1,000,000 Golden Gift, as both cards wedge neatly between the Breeders' Cup programs in the U.S.  With some large Trifecta and Pick 4 pay outs on Melbourne Cup Day, handicappers will be looking to build their bank in Australia on Friday night.

Melody Belle, recently crowned New Zealand Horse of the Year for the second straight season, has taken her incredible tally of G1 wins to 12 with victories in the same pair of races that preceded her successful mission to Australia last November. In 2019, Melody Belle won a G1 for fillies and mares on the opening day of the “Melbourne Cup Carnival,” before a gallant runner-up effort a week later. This year, connections skipped the first of those races and have specifically targeted this Friday night's Mackinnon Stakes.

The 6-year-old brings a superb 17-for-34 career record back to Melbourne, as she seeks redemption for an unlucky second place finish to Aidan O'Brien's globetrotting filly, Magic Wand. Melody Belle (4-1) will be ridden for the first time by 25-year-old Jye McNeil, fresh off his career-defining win for Joseph O'Brien in Monday night's Melbourne Cup (at odds that matched his age). The Mackinnon Stakes (Race 8) is a weight-for-age contest at 1 1/4 miles, almost identical conditions to the prestigious W.S. Cox Plate. Thus, it is not surprising that Melody Belle's stiffest opposition is expected from Mugatoo (4-1) and Arcadia Queen (3-1 favorite), based on their respective fourth and fifth-place finishes in the Cox Plate two weeks ago.

Two races prior to the Mackinnon, Australia's Horse of the Year for the 2019-20 season will be in action in the G1 Darley Classic. Nature Strip returns to Flemington's iconic “straight six” furlongs course, and will try to replicate the most exhilarating performance of a career punctuated by perplexing losses. Australian racing's biggest enigma has now lost three straight races for the first time, yet nobody who witnessed his scintillating performance in this event last year will be brave enough to write him off. As in 2019, Nature Strip finished off the board (his usual modus operandi if not getting his picture taken) in The Everest, before returning from Sydney for the Darley Classic. If his career record of 26,14-3-0 leaves one flummoxed as to which version will appear next, it is worth bearing in mind that the 6-year-old's record down the Flemington straight course is four-for-five (and two-for-two at six furlongs).

Nature Strip shares favoritism at 3-1 with another G1 winner down Flemington's straight course, Bivouac, who comes off a terrific second in The Everest. Further opposition exiting the world's richest turf race is expected from the mare, Libertini, who was heavily bet (8-1 into 5-1) in The Everest but had no luck from the extreme outside gate. Both Bivouac and Libertini contested The Everest second up and are still fresh into their current campaigns. Coincidentally, they finished in the minor placings in the same G1 race (for 3-year-olds) down the Flemington straight during last year's Melbourne Cup Carnival.

While Melbourne holds the Friday night spotlight, Sydney's Rosehill Racecourse will be the scene of an exciting addition to Australia's rich program of juvenile races. The Southern Hemisphere racing season began on Aug. 1 and the first 2-year-old races were run only a month ago, yet an early carrot is being dangled for connections of the most precocious juveniles. The Golden Gift, at 5 1/2 furlongs, carries a purse of $1,000,000. The China Horse Club owns a pair of debut stakes winners, Captivant (3-1 favorite) and Tiger of Malay (7-1). Last year's inaugural Golden Gift winner, Dame Giselle (a subsequent multiple stakes winner), is part-owned by the China Horse Club and came through the same debut race as Tiger of Malay. It's unusual to see 2-year-olds traveling interstate this early in the season, but the lucrative purse sees both Sneaky Five (9-2) and Ghostwriter (10-1) being whisked to Sydney after scoring debut wins in Melbourne and Brisbane, respectively. The race includes three first-time starters, and North American fans will be intrigued by a Chris Waller-trained son of American Pharoah named Head of State (14-1), who has won both of his trials (“training races”). A G2 event for fillies and mares follows the Golden Gift on the Rosehill card.

The Flemington and Rosehill cards will be broadcast live on TVG this Friday night (First Post: 10:25 p.m. ET / 7:25 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Doomben and Gold Coast. All races will also be live-streamed in HD with past performances available for free at skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms. Wagering is available via all the major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, AmWager, and BetAmerica. The Pick 7 wager is available on the Flemington (AUS-A) card.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael's vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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