Veloce Bella Picks Up Group One
- Saturday, 13 February 2010 05:15
Veloce Bella picked up an overdue Group One success after outstaying Tell A Tale to win the International Stakes at Te Rapa.
Veloce Bella has been one of the better middle distance horses in New Zealand for the past two years but until Saturday had recorded placings only in her Group One attempts.
But she benefited from a hard-run last 800m in the 2000m feature, getting clear 200m out and running past Tell A Tale to win by a neck.
It was the first Group One success for Mark Brosnan who has been training for 18 years.
"She's had a lot of little problems, especially with (muscle) tying up," he said.
"She's really deserved a Group One win."
Veloce Bella was one of the better three-year-old fillies two seasons ago and her victories included the Sir Tristram Classic on this race day in 2008.
She also ran third in this race behind MacO'Reilly and Tell A Tale.
Jockey Michael Coleman said Veloce Bella wasn't travelling that well when MacO'Reilly put the pace on and went a few lengths clear about 1000m out, but the extra pace probably helped eventually.
"I thought I was in trouble at the 600 metres," he said.
"But she found a way back into it and at the 200 metres she started to feel like she had a very good chance."
Veloce Bella is likely to head next to the Otaki-Maori Weight-For-Age on February 28 and then possibly the New Zealand Stakes on March 13.
Passchendaele did well to finish third, 1-1/4 lengths behind Tell A Tale after having to drag the field back to MacO'Reilly, who also did well to finish fourth a half-head behind Passchendaele.
