Cape Cross has been enjoying another magnificent season, with two G1 winners to his name already in 2010, and last year’s leading sire in Europe recorded his tenth individual Black type winner of the year when his daughter Mekong Melody landed the G2 Dance Smartly Stakes at Woodbine.
Racing on the outside, the five-year-old mare stalked the pace before making her move at the top of the straight. Soon in front, Mekong Melody stayed on superbly to hold the late challenge of stablemate Ave and won the nine-furlong contest by a nose.
Bred in Ireland by David Egan, she is out of the winning Niniski mare Nini Princesse, a full sister to G1 winner Louis Cyphre. Placed second in the Listed Rosemary Stakes, Mekong Melody relocated to the United States at the end of her three-year-old season and has been beaten just once in five starts since.
Her victory comes just a day after another daughter of Cape Cross who has made a successful trip across the Atlantic – Treat Gently – recorded her second consecutive Stakes win when landing the G3 Robert G Dick Memorial Handicap at Delaware Park.
