EF JUNE 26 - MELITO BRINGS A TEAR TO THE EYE OF HER TRAINER

By Graham Potter | Monday, June 28, 2010

For Gerald Ryan it was a particularly emotional moment, enough to bring a tear to the eye of the seasoned trainer.

The victory of Melito in the Group 1 Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday was a case of justice served. Clearly no other runner was more deserving of a final Group 1 fanfare for the season than the tough and talented daughter of Redoute’s Choice.

Since winning the Group 1 TJ Smith at Randwick on April 10 second-up, Melito has continued to take on older rivals at the elite level.

In a succession of high profile performances Melito was beaten a length by Hot Danish in the All Aged, a nose by Albert The Fat in the BTC Cup, again a length by Hot Danish in the Doomben 10000 and then by an agonising short-half-head by Black Piranha in the $1 million Stradbroke Handicap.

The fact that Melito was taking her racing so well, in spite a schedule which might have taken its toll on another runner, meant that Ryan was happy to extend her preparation by one more run and allow her to take on another competitive line-up in the Winter Stakes where her opposition included the likes of the BRC Sprint winner Beaded, the Glenlogan winner Wealth Princess and the Dane Ripper winner, Set For Fame.

That Melito boldly took the race to her rivals and dominated from the front to withstand all challenges is now a result in the record books, but it was not so much her win in the Winter Stakes but rather the journey that Ryan had been through with the filly to reach this point of satisfaction that had Ryan emotional in the moment.

The trainer had no hesitation in confirming that this win was the most emotional he had experienced in some time.

Trainer Gerald Ryan: “Yep, it is. It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come. The horse could have gone anywhere, you know. I was more likely to lose the horse than keep it at one stage, but (owner) John (Rippon) backed me and I’m so grateful for that.

“I just can’t say enough about the horse. She just keeps putting in and putting in. Surely she’s done enough now to be the ‘Three-year-old Filly of the Year.’

Owner John Rippon gave further insight into the history of Melito and the road she followed before arriving on the Group 1 stage.

Owner John Rippon: “It’s been fairly well documented, but just to summarise. Gerald bought the horse. He had some backers. He paid a bit more than they were happy with and they pulled out.

“Then we moved on to try to sell her privately, especially to some of the under-bidders. That didn’t happen.

“We had her ready for a ‘Ready To Run Sale’ but she had a little problem. She got cast in the stall or something, so she didn’t make it to that.

“Then Gerald started to tell me, this horse goes alright, so we said, ok, she’s not going anywhere. It’s amazing how things work out. The horse could have gone anywhere. That’s why Gerald’s a bit emotional. He really wanted the horse. His judgement was spot-on.”

Melito has now earned $1,577,700 from eighteen starts.

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