Bridal Waltz claims Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes
Progressive filly Bridal Waltz capped a breakout winter with a tough on-speed victory in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m), handing the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman yard another late‑season feature.
Sent out around $4.60 equal favourite with horse racing bookmakers, the three‑year‑old by Snitzel stalked last year’s winner Recommendation before surging late to score and make it consecutive black‑type successes.
Ben Melham was positive from the gates, sliding up to sit outside the leader and controlling the race from there.
As Recommendation rolled off the fence and built the tempo, Bridal Waltz was asked to lengthen and did so decisively inside the final 200m, with Kin charging home when clear but arriving 0.4 lengths short; Yellow Sam boxed on for third, 1.1 lengths away. The race was run on a Soft 5 in 1:11.27.
The win arrived about an hour after the late scratching of favourite Baraqiel, which compressed the market and left six of the remaining eight at single‑figure odds.
It hardly flustered the Moody/Coleman camp, whose filly had already stamped herself with a Listed Creswick Stakes victory at Flemington last start and duly handled the rise to open company.
“She’s made herself a valuable little girl… a multiple Stakes winner,” Moody said, hinting at either a short freshen and a mares’ Group 2 or a brief break before returning in the spring.
Melham praised Bridal Waltz’s tractability and the tactical edge in sitting outside Recommendation.
He noted he was happy to keep the leader honest and roll into the race before the corner, trusting the filly’s strength late — a plan that proved spot on as she fended off the closers.
Beyond the race itself, the success gave Moody a unique slice of history as the only trainer to win the Bletchingly Stakes three times, underscoring the stable’s knack for peaking the right horse at the right time.
For connections, including breeders and owners Pope Racing, the filly’s card now reads five wins from 12 starts and earnings north of $470,000 — with bigger spring targets now firmly on the table.
2025 Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes Replay – Bridal Waltz
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