THE PETLEY REPORT: THE MELODY BELLE SHOWS HEADS FOR ITS FINAL CURTAIN. WHAT A LAST RACE IT WILL BE!

By Jack Petley | Wednesday, May 19, 2021

The great Kiwi mare Melody Belle will have the curtain closed on her wonderful racing career … and what a final last race it will be! The Doomben Cup is chock full of smart gallopers and with the mare probably at the longest odds in all her career for Jamie Richards, 21-1. But while she is at long odds Richards told the NZ racing Desk earlier in the week that his star had been given the "thumbs up" by regular hoop Opie Bosson. Bosson arrived on the Gold Coast on Monday and rode the mare in her work on yesterday. "He gave her the tick of approval." said Richards. "Not only does he know her well on race-day but he has ridden her in the majority of her decent gallops." Success would take the mare to 15 Gr1s, equalling that great Black Caviar.

Melody Belle runs into a strong field of top gallopers including the import and ever so promising Zaaki, tough Kris Lees galloper Mugatoo and the Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet. Zaaki, with James McDonald to ride for the Neasham yard, is the favourite at 3 -1 followed by $4 Mugatoo, $6 Sir Dragonmet, $13 Fifty Stars, Shared Ambition, $15 Toffee Tongue, $17 Brandenburg.

Gytrash is likely to be seen at the Brisbane carnival, in the Kingsaford Smith Cup and if that is the case Kiwi Jason Collett will be on hand to partner the star sprinter, who is one horse being considered by slot holders for the $15 million Everest.

Big news out of the US, Bob Baffert, trainer of Medina Spirit , winner of the Kentucky Derby and third last weekend in the Preakness, has been temporarily suspended from having runners at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga. This said NYRA president and CVEO Dave O’Rourke, “was to protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants." Baffert has enjoyed wonderful success at the NYRA tracks with some 41 Grade 1 victories, and $US24m and plus in stakes.

The Bott-Waterhouse yard will have smart young gallopers Converge and Splendiferous at the Brisbane carnival with Converge, by Frankel, a trials winner at Wyong earlier in the week and with the Sires Produce and the JJ Atkins on the agenda. He won his trial ever so easily and in quick time. In early betting Converge sits at $9 second favourite for the Sires and $15 in the JJ Atkins. Splendiferous has the Oaks on her agenda and beforehand she runs in the The Roses.

Also heading north is the Team Price galloper Count De Rupee, a dashing winner in Sydney last weekend. A Stradbroke run is being considered but he would need to gain a further win beforehand and so will more than likely tackle the Fred Best, a race also on the cards for the boom Victoria Ayrton.

Kiwi John Sargent told the NZ racing Desk that he is "full of confidence" with Brandenburg in the Doomben Cup this weekend. "I think his mind is on the job," said Sargent. "Being a colt, it wasn't at the end of last campaign. The owners took the gamble to geld him and hopefully they will be rewarded in the Doomben." Sargent said he would then send his smart galloper around in the Q22. then have a short break and be readied for Melbourne in the spring.

Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh has put on hold having his smart filly Atishu race at the Brisbane carnival. The daughter of Savabeel has won her last four for the Cambridge stable and Marsh had thought about Queensland. "We are now looking at potentially Sydney in the spring," said Marsh, who said the filly had a float trip to Christchurch and back for her latest win and a trip so, he said, this season, it would have been too much for her. But he will still have a runner across the Tasman, Osaka, winner of 5 from 11 and raced by the Cambridge trainer in partnership with his father Bruce. "He will go over there to race at Caulfield on May 29 and he could potentially stay for a race three weeks later."

Marsh has thrown his full support behind the local race meeting being held on the new synthetic track at Cambridge and he has a big contingent at the meeting. "I am really looking forward to it," he told the NZ Racing Desk. "It does fit a purpose for horses looking for better tracks at this time of the year. It is good to send them around on a nice track."

Mark Fraser-Campin, the CEO of the Cambridge Club, said the meeting today was being given a "soft opening". We are looking at having and official function at our meeting on July 2 where we will have $40,000 races to play with."

Meantime in the South Island the Phar Lap Raceway is earmarked to close from the 2024-25 racing season. "It will be huge loss for southern trainers," said local trainer Bruce Tapper." It seems a bit of a shame to have winter horses and not have any winter tracks ." Races are on at the track tomorrow and Tapper said the track will offer good footing. He has several runners and one worth watching he says is Drops of Jupiter, a half brother to dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year, Beauty Generation, and a $6250 purchase off internet site gavelhouse.com.

Michael Walker has now faced three rounds of surgery on his badly broken right leg and the popular 37-year-old faces a long road to recovery.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has advised that four meetings a year could be held in mainland China as early as March 2025 with the HK JC unveiling a HK$4billion investment to make the long term ambition a reality.

In the UK Joe Mercer, one of the great jockeys of his era, and rider of that wonderful galloper Brigadier Gerard has died at the age of 86. Mercer rode some 2810 winners with his first success back in 1950 and he had eight British Classics to his credit, including the 2000 Guineas on Brigadier Gerard, a horse of his lifetime .