Kris Lees trained three-year old Smart Melody remains unbeaten in her four career starts, capturing victory in the listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on Saturday.
On a wild and windy day in Melbourne, Smart Melody was challenged by Craig Williams and Music Bay down the straight, but kicked into gear during the final 200m to go on and win by a length and a half.
The filly’s raw and natural talent was on full display as she shifted through her gears, and it wasn’t hard to see why the stable is steering away from the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and instead focusing on the $500,000 Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield next month.
Brenton Advulla and Smart Melody (above).
“She’ll go to the Thousand Guineas prelude and we’ll try to get her over a mile for the Thousand Guineas” stable representative Sharee Marshan told Racing.com.
After running Saturday’s 1100m journey in 1:04.83 seconds, just 2.6 seconds shy of a track record, Smart Melody has firmed into the $5.00 favourite with Ladbrokes.com.au ahead of the race on October 13.
“She’s a good filly. When i sat on her at Canterbury, she gave me vibes of a really talented horse” jockey Brenton Advulla said following the win.
“I think she can win me a nice race, the teams done a good job with her. She still got a bit lost up the straight here, but yeah, bright future.”
The filly of Smart Missile looked flighty prior to entering the gates on Saturday, but her strength at the line remains unmatched. Even with Music Bay alongside her in the blustery conditions, Smart Melody still appeared a class above the rest of the field.
“It’s a very very good win, she’s always shown a lot of talent and it was good for her to come to Melbourne and prove herself down the straight in a tough race” Marshan told Racing.com.
Sitting on the first line of betting, Thousand Guineas second-elects Seabrook and Thrillster may pose the biggest threat next month.
Still, the stable feels Smart Melody knows exactly what she’s capable of.
“She’s a big strong filly, and she knows she’s a big strong filly, she always does her best” Marshan said after the race.
Thousand Guineas odds can be seen below:
