Jamie Melham commented that she felt aged after partnering the Adelaide-trained galloper Pretty Baby to a Stakes race victory at Sandown.
While Melham’s career has since advanced significantly, she remembers riding Louisiana to a win at Strathalbyn in 2016.
Louisiana, the dam of Pretty Baby, achieved an emphatic 3-¾ length win in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1300m) at Sandown on Saturday, cementing her position as a leading contender for the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 17.
The $5.50 chance in the betting, Pretty Baby, triumphed over the $3.90 favourite Ghana’s Akan, with Portinari ($4) securing third place a further half-neck behind.
“The owners reminded me, I feel really old, as I used to ride the mum a lot,” Melham said.
“She was a bit difficult, and this filly is the same, but she’s got a lot more talent.
“She’s something else this horse.”
Melham had analysed Pretty Baby’s conduct in Adelaide and observed that the filly often exhibited undesirable racing habits.
“She looked like she was doing things wrong, hanging out, hanging in back in Adelaide, and today she was a little professional,” Melham remarked.
“She did everything right, I stopped the whip just because I know she has a tendency to lay in but she never gave me that feel today.
“She’s improved a lot since her last start, but she’s got a lot more improvement in her.”
Pretty Baby is trained at Morphettville by Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle.
Richards is no stranger to Melbourne racing, having prepared Gytrash for a win in the 2020 Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
Another Group 1 race is on the horizon for the stable, with Moyle being a relatively new training partner.
Moyle stated that the training team has great faith in the filly and was delighted by her performance on her Melbourne debut.
Pretty Baby was contesting her sixth race since May, and Moyle explained that the filly had a three-week break following her Listed win at Morphettville Parks in late June.
“Her first win was 1050 (metres), and it was really a trial for her as with the weather we couldn’t get a trial into her,” Moyle said.
“We’re pretty happy with how things are going and let’s hope they keep going that way.”
Moyle indicated that Pretty Baby might compete in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 19, or she could be saved for the Listed Jim Moloney Stakes over the same distance eight days later.
For those interested in the Thousand Guineas, exploring the racing odds at sports betting platforms is recommended.