Karaka Million Winners Shine at Hastings

Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) continued her amazing spring with another Group 1 win in Saturday’s $200,000 Windsor Park Plate (1600m), completing a huge day at Hastings not only for her connections, but also for Karaka graduates and Karaka Million winners.

Earlier the same day, her stablemate Avantage (Fastnet Rock) won the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m). Remarkably the top-quality pair, trained by Jamie Richards for Te Akau and Fortuna syndicates, are the last two winners of the Karaka Million (1200m) at Ellerslie.

Melody Belle followed her Karaka Million heroics in January 2017 with a Group 1 win in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and a Group 2 win in Brisbane. She was below her best as a three-year-old, but this spring she has risen to new heights.

After a first-up win in the Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) in August, she has completed a Hawke’s Bay spring carnival Group 1 double in the Tarzino Trophy (1400m) and Windsor Park Plate. No New Zealand-trained horse won more than one Group 1 race during the 2017-18 season, but Melody Belle has won the first two New Zealand Group 1 events of 2018-19.

Her Windsor Park Plate performance was dominant. Ridden positively by Shafiq Rusof from her inside gate, she sat just behind the leaders before taking control in the straight.

Melody Belle burst away, opening up a big margin 200 metres from the finish and cruising to victory by a length and three-quarters.

“She’s terrific,” Richards said. “It was a lovely ride from Shafiq again. She’s a horse who just loves racing. She knows she’s good, and she’s got a real swagger.

“This is a dream result. David Ellis buys the horses, syndicates them with Karyn (Fenton-Ellis), and John Galvin and his Fortuna syndicates are a big part of our business as well. Days like this make the early mornings worthwhile.”

Bought by Ellis for just $57,500 at the 2016 Premier Sale, Melody Belle has now won eight of her 15 starts for the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate. She has earned over $1.2 million in prize-money – more than 21 times her purchase price.

Completing an all-Karaka trifecta, the $65,000 Premier Sale graduate Savvy Coup (NZ) (Savabeel) ran home strongly into second with $75,000 Select Sale purchase Wyndspelle (NZ) (Iffraaj) third.