Link to Share
Melody Belle, New Zealand’s darling of the turf, will continue her farewell tour in Sydney later this month.
Fresh off her history-making win in the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, the Jamie Richards-trained mare will fly to Sydney next week in preparation for the G1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) 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 2400 metres because it is the first time she would have raced at that distance.
Link to Share
Champion mare Melody Belle created a piece of New Zealand racing history at Ellerslie on Saturday when she strode to victory in the Group 1 Bonecrusher NZ Stakes (2000m), her 14th win at the elite level, to surpass the mighty Sunline for the most G1 wins in the modern era for a NZ-trained galloper.
The six-year-old daughter of Commands had attracted her share of doubters as to whether she could produce another G1 victory after being beaten at Te Rapa over the same distance in the Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) 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 NZ Horse of The Year gave her seven rivals, including runner-up and stablemate Avantage, 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.
Link to Share
In a desperate three-way finish to the blue riband Group 1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m), it was race favourite Rocket Spade who came out on top at the conclusion of a thrilling contest.
The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained colt had gone into the race off a strong performance to win the Group 2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) in his final lead-up to Sunday’s feature event at Ellerslie.
That run had hinted the son of Fastnet Rock would thrive on the 2400m of the Derby and so it proved as rider Craig Grylls provided a masterclass in getting Rocket Spade home after the pair were in last position with just 600m to run.
Racing: Gambles pay off for Aegon in $1 million Karaka Classic Mile
23 Jan, 2021 11:00 AM
3 minutes to read
Aegon (inner) gets the best of Amarelinha to win the $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic at Ellerslie. Photo / Kirstin Ledington
NZ Herald
By: Michael Guerin
Two different Aegon gambles paid off to the tune of $530,000 at Ellerslie on Saturday night.
The 2000 Guineas winner remained unbeaten when he held out Amarelinha in the $1 million Karaka Classic Mile, two outstanding three-year-olds going to the line all but locked together at the end of a stirring 1600m.
But in winning Aegon not only set up an almost certain Australian campaign but paid back the faith and patience of trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman.
Link to Share
Te Akau have bolstered their numbers for the NZ$1m Doubletree By Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) next week with a good result at Tauranga on Friday.
Trainer Jamie Richards contested the Ray White Papamoa 2YO (1200m) with Millefiori and Sneaky Shark, and both have earnt enough money to make it into the 14-horse field for next Saturday’s rich race.
Millefiori was given a perfect trip by jockey Samantha Collet in the trail behind La Grande Rue before she was guided three-wide in the home straight and rallied late to win by a long neck over Mr Blue Sky, with a further half-length back to Drum Major in third, and Sneaky Shark running on late to finish fifth.