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Megastar Melody Belle earned two slices of New Zealand racing history with her commanding performance in the Livamol Classic at Hastings.
She became the first horse to complete Hawke's Bay's weight-for-age Triple Crown – the Tarzino Trophy (1400m), Windsor Park Plate (1600m) and Livamol Classic. Eight horses had previously won two of the three.
It was also the ninth Group One win of Melody Belle's glittering career, which is a new record number of G1 victories in New Zealand. She had previously shared that record with Mufhasa, who won eight in New Zealand and another two in Melbourne.
Five of Melody Belle 's G1 wins came during an all-conquering 2018-19 season, which earned her a near-unanimous vote of Horse of the Year.
The Commands mare has begun the 2019-20 season in the same vein, easily defending her titles in the Tarzino Trophy and Windsor Park Plate. She was the $1.30 favourite to make history in Saturday's Livamol, and she did not disappoint.R
Emotional members of the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate flooded into the winners' circle after the race, watched by proud manager John Galvin.
"Before the race, I said that we were standing on the crest of history – now we've done it," he said. "It's an amazing feeling to have completed this very elusive Triple Crown.
"She's the horse you dream about. It was life-changing when she won the Karaka Million as a two-year-old. T
"To win nine Group 1 races on top of that is unbelievable."
Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis paid just $57,500 to buy Melody Belle as a yearling at Karaka.
Bred by Marie Leicester, Melody Belle (Commands x Meleka Bele by Iffraaj) was purchased out of Haunui Farm's draft on behalf of Fortuna syndication company boss John Galvin.
She is from a family that has been producing class performers for decades and includes the G1 Golden Slipper winners Belle Du Jeu (Dehere) and Dance Hero (Danzero) and the G1 Epsom Handciap winner Rock Kingdom (Rock Of Gibraltar).
Melody Belle is the first foal of Meleka Belle , a half-brother to Exaltation (Not A Single Doubt) who was a $900,000 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale buy for David Ellis.