Melrose Place's prime time showing

The O’Brien family enjoyed success at Flemington on Saturday with Danny breeding and training Melrose Place, and his wife Nina owning the three-year-old filly who won the $150,000, listed Gucci Icons of Heritage Stakes (1200m), fittingly in some style.

Melrose Place (54kg) was allowed by Damien Oliver to settle in behind the leaders and he tracked first Metastasio and Kerrin McEvoy, and then the leader Romancingthestone and Craig Newitt.

Oliver sent Melrose Place forward taking the lead with 200m to run and the filly then ran away to a good 1.5-length win over Sense Of Hite (NZ) (Street Sense) (54kg) and Craig Williams with Farewell (Exceed And Excel) (54kg) and Blake Shinn third, the margin 1 1/4L.

The time was 1.10.61 on the Dead 4 track with the final 600m in a smart 33.81. Melrose Place paid $8.80 on STAB.

“Trish (Damien Oliver’s wife) and my wife Nina are great mates and Nina’s been pushing to get Damien on the horse, so he is on it today and he has got the job done," O'Brien said.

“She has always shown a hell of a lot of ability. She was very unlucky here on Turnbull Day, she just got pushed into the rail, and then we thought we would give her the month between runs and aim her at the race over the Carnival. It has all come together.

“I would say we will put her away and bring her back for the autumn. She might be a chance in some of the nice sprinting races in the autumn,” he said.

“It was very easy. She never got out of second gear," said Oliver.

“You do not usually get that luxury over the Spring Carnival. But she had lovely cover behind them and when she saw daylight she was going to win a long way out,” he said

Melrose Place is by Purrealist out of the Fasliyev mare Miss Mancini, both who were also trained by O'Brien, and this was her second win from five races. With a second place she has earned stakes of $107,175 plus the valuable stakes win for her pedigree.

Story by Rob Burnet, to view full Thoroughbred News story click here

Photo by Bruno Cannatelli, to view Bruno's website click here