Belle romps home at Riccarton

Belle Of The Ball continued her sparkling run of southern form at Riccarton where she completed a hat-trick of wins on Saturday afternoon ahead of a likely return to black-type competition.

The Mark Walker-trained four-year-old, who finished runner-up in last season’s Listed Warstep S., had been untested in her previous two outings on the synthetic track and she again proved far too good on the turf for her Rating 75 rivals over 1600 metres.

The Waikato Stud graduate holds a nomination for next month’s G2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile over the same course and distance and is currently a $26 chance in the futures market for the November 9 feature.

“She’s a very progressive mare, but obviously didn’t beat that much in the previous two races she won,” Walker said.

“She’s going the right way and she’s capable of winning a really decent race.”

Belle Of The Ball was given a cosy run behind the pace by rider Joe Kamaruddin before he eased her into the clear at the top of the straight and they surged clear.

The daughter of Savabeel was purchased out of the Matamata farm’s 2020 draft at Karaka by Te
Akau’s David Ellis for $300,000.

She is the first live foal of the Duke Of Marmalade mare Lady Tatia who was successful twice and was placed in the G2 Moonee Valley Fillies’ Classic and is out of a sister to multiple Group 1 winner Shogun Lodge.

Lady Tatia delivered a sister last year to Belle Of The Ball before a return visit to Savabeel.