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Melody Belle Boost For Karaka Yearling

3 minute read

The only yearling by Arrowfield Stud sire Not A Single Doubt entered for this week’s NZB National Yearling Sale at Karaka is certain to a showstopper following Saturday’s Ellerslie win by her 3YO half-sister Melody Belle.

Commands filly Melody Belle, winner of last year’s Karaka Million, added the G3 Mongolian Khan Trophy to her record for her fifth win in 10 starts.

The Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards-trained won by a convincing three and a half lengths in a big boost for her yearling sibling to be offered by Haunui Farm on behalf of Melody Belle’s breeder Marie Leicester on third day of Book One as Lot 371 on Tuesday.

Melody Belle
Melody Belle Picture: Trish Dunell

Jamie Richards said the Melody Belle could now be aimed at the G1 BCD Group Sprint at Te Rapa on 10 February and may visit Australia during the autumn.

Melody Belle, a G1 winner as a 2YO, is the only foal to race out of the winning Iffraaj mare Meleka Belle.

She cost only $NZ57,500 at the 2016 Karaka Premier Sale when purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis and has won more than $910,000 prizemoney for the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate.

An upset win by 3YO gelding Scott Base in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic at Ellerslie on Saturday provided his sire Dalghar with his second stakes winner.

Dalghar, also the sire of stakes winner Astara, has two yearlings catalogued in Book One of the NZ Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka his week.

Scott Base (Dalghar x Extra Celestial by Danehill Dancer) beat the G1 winner Embellish in the 3YO Classic (RL) to give his co-trainer Johno Benner his second million dollar race win at Ellerslie four years after he won the Karaka Million in 2014 with Vespa.

Vespa, a $34,000 yearling purchase, later added the G1 Diamond Stakes to be New Zealand’s champion 2YO of 2013-14. He is now at stud.

Scott Base, only eighth to Embellish in the 2000 Guineas in November, had won his previous start over 1300 metres at Awapuni on January 7.

“He’s a horse we’ve got a lot of time for. We knew he was top drawer and he’s beaten a good field,” Benner said.

Scott Base was bred by Neven Botica’s Botsky Pty Ltd and was offered at the 2016 NZB Select Sale at Karaka by Brighthill Farm. Chris Rutten Bloodstock bought him for $70,000.

He has now won three of his 10 for prize money of $NZ581,875.

His dam Extra Celestial produced the winner Golden Organic (Dalghar) and is out of Extra Terrestrial (Quest for Fame), dam of the Listed winner Turbo Street (Encosta De Lago) and G3-placed Home On A Wing (Hawk Wing).

The family includes G1 winners Outback Prince and Hotel Grand.

High class Mastercraftsman mare Thee Auld Floozie won the G2 Westbury Classic for the second ridden by champion Australian jockey Hugh Bowman.

A G1 winner the 6YO Thee Auld Floozie (Mastercraftsman x Thee Auld Hussie by Spinning World) won the Westbury Classic for the first time in March last season but had not won since.

Accomplished sire Swiss Ace sired his ninth stakes winner when the six-year-old gelding Julius won the G3 Concorde Handicap at Ellerslie.

The Jason Bell-trained Julius (Swiss Ace x Oh So Royal by Danzero) has a half-brother by Reliable Man catalogued as Lot 444 in Book I of this week’s New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling sale.

The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Charles Road secured his stakes win in Saturday’s G3 City Of Auckland Cup at Ellerslie.

Ridden by Jake Bayliss, the 4YO Charles Road (Myboycharlie x Giant Mystique by Giant's Causeway) recorded his first Group win in last year’s G3 Manawatu Classic.
Racing and Sports

Ellerslie

Saturday, 27th January 2018

1
16:41
(local)

Mongolian Khan Trophy (G3)

Age: 3yo Type: OPEN
NZD $70,000
1200m TURF GOOD
1
16:41
(local)
NZD $70,000
1200m GOOD

Mongolian Khan Trophy (G3)

Age: 3yo Type: OPEN

This Listed 3yo over 1200m under set weights and penalties was run at a solid clip and saw the odds on Melody Belle win easily as expected. She sat in the trail and then worked off and up three-out turning for home before taking the lead with 200m to go and then clearing right away to score by three and a half lengths in 1:09.48. The time was good as the following race, a G3 Open Handicap was run and won in 1:09.42 and therefore just a smidgen superior. It was her fifth win in ten starts and she at this meeting a year ago won the Karaka Millions juvenile feature. Melody Belle now has the full set of a G1, G2, G3 and Listed successes on her resume. Astor fresh up ran on well for second and Gift Of Power fought well for third after an average start then going up quickly to sit second the outer but was beaten five lengths. Ladynadel ran on well for fourth after being crowded and settling down in the rear duo on the inner and ironically another that found the line was Short Fuse, which also got crowded and was the other part of that rear duo on settling. Caesour’s Dream led up but fainted the run home, as she often does, to finish sixth beaten six and a half lengths. The next three home were the only males in the event and they were well beaten too with the last finisher a filly at $84 that should have been paying five times as much and she ran last beaten forty-four lengths. Melody Belle has many more wins in store and her connections would like to snare a G1 against the older horses to add more legitimacy too her record as her G1 came as a juvenile and that is not always trustable form. Astor is in for a good campaign while the bubble well and truly burst on Gift Of Power so clockwise may be an issue. The irony is Gift Of Power won a G2 1100m last season left handed as a juvenile and that day and beat Hasahalo (G1 1000 Guineas winner easily this season over a mile) and Melody Belle, so the improvement from two to three can be massive and then from three to four it can be the hardest bridge to cross for almost all. Only a very few can cut it when a 4yo and meeting the older horses whether it be at WFA or under Handicap conditions so next season is the real line in the sand for both male and female gallopers. Ladynadel and Short Fuse have more wins in store and they have formed a quinella once before today.



FP Horse, Age & Sex
Sire & Dam
Jockey
Trainer
SP
WT
1st 1. MELODY BELLE (NZ) 3yo F
COMMANDS (AUS) - MELEKA BELLE (NZ)
OPIE BOSSON
STEPHEN AUTRIDGE
$1.9
57kg
Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate (Mgr: J Galvin)

Sales Information

2nd 6. ASTOR (NZ) 3yo F
IFFRAAJ (GB) - HUKBA (AUS)
SAMANTHA COLLETT
CODY COLE
$17.4
54kg
G E Harding

Sales Information

3rd 2. GIFT OF POWER (NZ) 3yo F
POWER (GB) - CAPITAL DIAMOND (NZ)
CHRIS JOHNSON
GRAEME & DEBBIE ROGERSON
$4.4
56kg
Rosemont Stud Pty Ltd (Mgr: A P Mithen)

Sales Information

4th 7. LADYNADEL (NZ) 3yo F
SAVABEEL (AUS) - NADEL DAME (NZ)
DANIELLE JOHNSON
MURRAY BAKER & ANDREW FORSMAN
$11.3
54kg

Sales Information

5th 9. SHORT FUSE (NZ) 3yo F
PER INCANTO (USA) - ONLY EXPLOSIVE (NZ)
CAMERON LAMMAS
GRAHAM RICHARDSON
$20.4
54kg

Sales Information

6th 8. CAESOUR'S DREAM (NZ) 3yo F
NICCONI (AUS) - CAESOUR'S PROMISE (AUS)
MATTHEW CAMERON
MURRAY BAKER & ANDREW FORSMAN
$27.3
54kg
7th 5. BOMBARDING (NZ) 3yo G
DALGHAR (FR) - GOLDEN EVE (NZ)
MICHAEL MCNAB
STEPHEN MCKEE
$36.7
56kg

Sales Information

8th 4. BEYOND DISPUTE (AUS) 3yo G
NOT A SINGLE DOUBT (AUS) - CONSIDERABLE (AUS)
ALYSHA COLLETT
STEVEN COLE
$65.9
56kg

Sales Information

9th 3. MERLINI (AUS) 3yo G
I AM INVINCIBLE (AUS) - FAKER (NZ)
LEITH INNES
TONY PIKE
$6.1
56kg

Sales Information

10th 11. DEVINE LOVE (NZ) 3yo F
DALGHAR (FR) - ANGEL BY ME (NZ)
JAKE BAYLISS
JASON PRICE
$87.6
54kg

Sales Information

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