With the return of the Gr.1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) to Hastings on Saturday, Fortuna Racing’s John Galvin can’t help but reminisce about his former star mare Melody Belle and her three-peat in the race.
The daughter of Commands had a love affair with the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, winning seven legs of the Triple Crown over three years, including becoming the first horse to sweep the coveted series in 2019.
“I was thinking about it the other day and Melody Belle only raced at Hawke’s Bay seven times, all in Group One races, and she won them all,” Galvin said.
The Jamie Richards-trained mare was also the first horse to win three consecutive Howden Insurance Miles, known as the Windsor Park Plate at the time, and Galvin was proud to be a part of history.
“The first year (2018) Shafiq Rusof rode her,” Galvin said. “We won the first leg (Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy, 1400m) and then we won the second, and there was a temptation to have a go at the Triple Crown (Gr.1 Livamol Classic, 2040m), but the consensus was that she had done enough, so we gave her a bit of a break.
“The following year she came back and Opie (Bosson) rode her. I think Michael McNab rode her in the 1400m race and then Opie was on in the second leg, which was a pretty solid effort, and she was just so dominant winning the third leg, she careered away from the rest of the field.
“In the third year, she had been racing in Sydney for a couple of races and wasn’t quite going good enough, so we decided to bring her home. She missed the first leg as a result, we didn’t have time for that, so she resumed in the mile and took that out and made it three in a row (in the Windsor Park Plate), and she went on and won the Livamol again as well.
“They were incredible days and incredible times, and they were so meaningful to not only myself but also all the syndicate members.”
Galvin is pleased to see the Howden Insurance Mile return to Hastings after a two-year hiatus, following a slip in the first race of the meeting two years ago, with the track having to undergo remedial work before returning to racing earlier this year.
“The Hawke’s Bay Triple Crown has been an iconic race series over the years,” he said. “Now that the first leg has gone to Ellerslie they may struggle to get it back, but it was certainly a great thing for Hawke’s Bay Racing to have those three Group Ones there over that six-week period.”
Bred by Marie Leicester, Melody Belle, was purchased out of Haunui Farm’s 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale draft by Te Akau Racing principal Sir David Ellis, on behalf of Fortuna Racing, for $57,500.
She enjoyed a decorated career on the track, winning 14 Group One races, half of which were at Hastings, and she also enjoyed success across the Tasman, where she was victorious in the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington following her Triple Crown heroics in 2019.
Melody Belle retired from the track in 2021 with 19 wins and more than $4 million in prizemoney, with her deeds securing her back-to-back New Zealand Horse of the Year crowns. Melody Belle was subsequently purchased by thoroughbred juggernaut Yulong Investments at Magic Millions’ Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale for A$2.6 million.
She has had three foals to date, including stakes performer Lyrics ‘N’ Song, and is currently in foal to Yulong’s resident stallion Growing Empire.
With his close association with Te Akau Racing, Galvin is getting plenty of enjoyment out of watching the progress of Lyrics ‘N’ Song, who is trained by Mark Walker at their Cranbourne base.
“It has been particularly nice that Te Akau are training her,” he said. “She has won a couple already, including one recently, so she is on the way. Let’s hope she can, to some extent, emulate her mum.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
