Melody Belle (NZ) Scores Fifth Stakes Win in Foxbridge

Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), the $57,500 Premier Sale purchase who found fame in the 2017 Karaka Million 2YO, began her four-year-old campaign with an immediate big-race impact at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Lining up in the $100,000 Group 2 Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate (1200m) for the 13th start of her career, Melody Belle defeated a strong weight-for-age field to record her sixth win and fifth at stakes level.

Rider Shafiq Rusof had Melody Belle close to the pace throughout the race, then angled her out into the centre of the track to make her run.

She and fellow Karaka graduate Julius (NZ) (Swiss Ace) strode to the lead together in the straight and fought out an exciting finish, with Melody Belle coming out on top by a nose.

“I was a bit worried after she’d missed a trial and her work hadn’t been that flash, but she’s a real racehorse,” trainer Jamie Richards said. “She really toughed it out to the line.”

Melody Belle was bought by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis at the 2016 Premier Sale and is raced by the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate.

She followed her 2017 Karaka Million heroics with victories in the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Awapuni and the Group 2 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) in Brisbane. She was voted New Zealand’s champion two-year-old of 2016-17.

In January of this year, the Marie Leicester-bred Melody Belle became the first Karaka Million to return to the twilight Ellerslie meeting and win another race. She was a dominant winner of the Group 3 Mongolian Khan Trophy (1200m).

Saturday’s Foxbridge Plate victory boosted her career earnings past $986,000 – more than 17 times her purchase price.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Fortuna syndicate manager John Galvin said. “She’s a quality filly, and we’d be crazy not to be confident about the season ahead after that.”

Runner-up Julius was a $44,000 purchase at the 2013 Select Sale. He has now had 12 starts for seven wins, five placings and more than $221,000 in stakes.