A homebred for Gooree Stud, Smart Melody (images Grant Courtney) won her only two starts last season by a combined total of 10.6 lengths and has progressed in leaps and bounds this spring.
She travelled up on the pace for Brenton Avdulla and scored a length win over
Thrillster with Group I winning filly El Dorado Dreaming in third place.Lees noted Smart Melody went from the 1100m of her previous Flemington win to the 1400m of the Thousand Guineas Prelude, adding he needed to analyse her performance before locking in a Thousand Guineas start over 1600m on October 13.
"I wouldn't say she'd eat it (1600m) up. I'll have to reassess it off the back off it," Lees said.
"I'll have a look at the videos and see how she does but she has jumped from 1100 to 1400m in a fortnight so I think there's a lot of positives there.
"She raced without cover but she had a perfect run for Brenton. He let her go at the top of the straight and she put a nice gap in them.
"She was running on empty a touch but she has still held them off quite comfortably."
Smart Melody is the first winner for stakes-winning Encosta de Lago mare Sweetest Melody, who was on-sold by Gooree Stud at the Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale earlier this year for $51,000 in foal to Choisir.
With five wins in as many starts and prizemoney in excess of $280,000, Smart Melody looks a real rising star for Smart Missile, who stands at a fee of $13,200 at Twin Hill Stud. Smart Melody is one of six stakes-winners for Smart Missile, a son of champion sire Fastnet Rock.
