Melody Belle and Probabeel begin build-up to spring
It may not even be winter yet, but top New Zealand gallopers Melody Belle (Commands) and Probabeel (Savabeel) arrived at the Randwick stables of John Thompson yesterday to begin their preparations for the spring.
The Group 1-winning pair had been spelling at Lime Country, the Burradoo property of Kiwi expatriates Greg and Jo Griffin, along with stablemate Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle).
“Melody Belle and Probabeel are back in today at the stables at Randwick and Te Akau Shark will stay out a little bit longer,” trainer Jamie Richards said yesterday. “They’ve been really well cared for and the fillies in particular have put on a good amount of weight. They are going into John Thompson’s stables and our staff member Ashley Handley will be looking after them again.
“We’re going to sit tight in Sydney, where the weather is generally a bit better, get them fit, poke them towards a trial, and see how it comes together. We haven’t worried too much about particular race plans, as yet.”
It has been a momentous season for Richards, who leads the New Zealand premiership on 99 wins. He was stuck one short of 100 when racing was shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic and had been well on track to chase down the New Zealand record of 143 set by training partners Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in 2017/18. He hopes to bring up the century pretty quickly when racing resumes.
“We’ve got three older horses – Bak Da Master, Al Haram and Richard of Yorke – who are all getting fit and looking pretty good,” Richards said. “And horses like Cicciolina and Shebringsmerubies that are probably knocking on the door and can handle a bit of cut in the track.
“We’re obviously not renowned for wet trackers in the winter but I think we’ve got a few bullets there to fire.”
He scored 17 stakes wins in New Zealand and a further three, all Group 1 wins, in Australia. In fact, 11 of his 20 stakes wins came in Group 1 races, with his haul including the three legs of the New Zealand Triple Crown – the Tarzino Trophy (Gr 1, 1400m), the Windsor Park Plate (Gr 1, 1600m) and the Livamol Classic (Gr 1, 2040m) – as well as the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in Australia.
Horse of the Year Melody Belle swept the New Zealand Triple Crown and the Empire Rose, while Probabeel created history by completing the Karaka Million (RL, 1200m) and Karaka 3YO Classic (RL, 1600m) double in addition to her Group 1 success.
In addition, Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel) became Richards’ fourth consecutive Karaka Million winner, Probabeel and Te Akau Shark each won Group 1 races on the same day at Royal Randwick, and Cool Aza Beel and Avantage (Fastnet Rock) emulated the feat at Ellerslie.
Amongst a season of success, Richards nominates the Randwick double as his greatest feat.
“Mainly because of the prestige around racing in Sydney,” he said. “It’s one of the most competitive racing jurisdictions in the world. We had two runners that day and they both won Group 1 races, so quite unbelievable really.
“That was the highlight, closely followed by the double on Karaka Million night. We thought it would be hard to beat that, but then we did.”
Richards added that he and the staff were happy to be back into the training routine at Matamata, after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We’re chipping away, building their fitness and looking forward to them stepping up,” he said. “It’s great to welcome back proven horses like Avantage, Savy Yong Blonk, Prise De Fer, Need I Say More, Brando and all of those sorts of horses.
“And, it’s also great to have the new crop of yearlings coming through and seeing the exciting young horses that Dave’s (Ellis) bought. So, it’s a good time of year to be back into it.”