Melody Belle to have her final start in the Group 1 Doomben Cup

KIWI super mare Melody Belle will race on once more with trainer Jamie Richards confirming she will have her swansong in the Group 1 Doomben Cup in a fortnight’s time.

After running down the track in Saturday’s Hollindale Stakes at the Gold Coast, question marks hovered over her racing future, however Richards said it was still all systems go towards the Doomben Cup.

While she is a 14-time Group One winner, Richards concedes she is unlikely to topple Saturday’s Hollindale Stakes winner Zaaki who has been backed into $3.50 favoritism with TAB.com.au.

“I thought she was probably going to run into fifth or sixth, the winner was very impressive and it was a very high-quality field,” he said.

“We didn’t end up having the rub of the green there in the race but she will have to improve.

“There needs to be improvement, she can’t improve enough to beat the winner (Zaaki) but she can improve enough to be running top three.”

There is hope however, with the handler saying her work leading up to Saturday’s 10th placing had hardly inspired confidence from the camp.

“Her track work had only been OK going into it and it could be better,” he said. “She has come through OK.

“I just want her to run a good race to see her off. She does need to improve a lot to be competitive at that level. We will push on to the Doomben Cup and then to the (Magic Millions) sale.

Winning 19 of her 40 starts, including the Group 2 Sires’ Produce at Eagle Farm in 2017, Melody Belle is set to be a sought after broodmare.

Meanwhile Victorian jockey Daniel Moor will make the trek north on Saturday to ride unbeaten two-year-old See You In Spring.

The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained filly will race in the Group 2 Champagne Classic at Doomben where she will look to go three from three.

Moor rode the filly in her debut start at Cranbourne last month but was not aboard for her last-start win at Listed level in Adelaide earlier this month.

Moor last year returned from a two-year riding stint in Singapore due to racing shutting down for a prolonged period because of Covid-19.

Originally published asRichards to give Melody Belle one last crack

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