3 minute read
Australian-bred four-year-old Melagrana made it two stakes wins in a row in Japan when he won the G3 Yukan Fuji Sho Ocean Stakes at Nakayama on Sunday.
The Fastnet Rock 4YO was sold to Japan’s leviathan breeder and owner Kazumi Yoshida at the 2014 Australian Easter Yearling Sale by his breeder Emirates Park.
Melagrana has had 15 starts in Japan since her debut in 2015 for six wins including four of her the last five outings.Sunday’s win saw Melagrana’s earnings escalate to ¥129 million, around $A1.5 million.
Melagrana is out of the winning Secret Savings mare Ghaliah, a half sister to multiple G2 winner and sire Mutawaajid as wel as the G2 winner Adeewin, Flemington stakes winner Jivago and G2 winning 2YO Fatoon, the dam of Epsom Handicap winner Fat Al.A half brother to Melagrana by I Am Invincible was sold this year’s Sydney Classic Sale to Gai Waterhouse for $180,000.
Ghaliah’s last foal is a Smart Missile weanling.Rafeef, a Redoute’s Choice 4YO trained by Mike de Kock, registered his first black type victory in the G2 Hawaii Stakes at Turffontein in South Africa.
Bred by the Arrowfield Group and Klawervlei Stud, Rafeef was sold to Shadwell Australia at the 2014 Easter sale for $800,000 and has now won five of his eight starts.He beat another Australian-bred in New Predator, a G2 winner last year. Al Hawraa (New Approach), Heavenly Blue (Snitzel) and Ilitshe (Fastnet Rock) all ran stakes placings on the Turffontein program.