Racing: Veloce Bella finally nails a group one

If Mark Brosnan was feeling any discomfort from throwing away his crutches midweek it wasn't obvious as he watched stable runner Veloce Bella return to scale after winning the $200,000 Darci Brahma Stakes at Te Rapa on Saturday.

The 46-year-old Matamata horseman was luxuriating in seeing his high-class mare in the spot he always knew she deserved and would one day achieve.

If ever a mare deserved group one winning status it was Veloce Bella.

On Saturday, she was striding out better than her trainer, who broke a leg while paintballing, of all things, on Christmas Day.

Watching the beautifully put-together Veloce Bella walking around in front of the victory ceremony was picture-perfect serenity.

Brosnan has a different slant.

"She's a crocodile to do anything with.

"She'll kick and bite anyone."

There are very few top-class mares who are not the same. Ask the Sunline team.

Weight-for-age races are even more tempo-related than most races.

When MacO'Reilly took off and forced the pace at the 900m, he totally changed the complexity of the contest.

From that point it was a race of survival and the last horse to make its run at the leaders was going to win.

That horse was Veloce Bella.

Early in the run home Passchendaele attacked MacO'Reilly and looked likely. Tell A Tale then came along and was hailed the winner, then Veloce Bella bombed them all.

It was a finishing effort Darci Brahma, after whom the race was named, would have been proud of.

It looked like the perfect ride from jockey Michael Coleman, who was big enough to admit he was a victim of circumstances.

"The reason I didn't take off on her when the others went is because she couldn't go - she was flat."

Mark Brosnan was happy to accept that luck had finally come his way because of those circumstances.

"If the others hadn't done that she couldn't have won," said Brosnan.

"She wouldn't have won a sit-sprint race."

Veloce Bella had won four times at group two level, in the Travis Stakes, Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic, Eight Carat Classic and Avondale Guineas.

She has now won $602,550, not bad for a mare who on debut back in March 2006 tailed off throughout and finished 18.2 lengths from the winner.

Tell A Tale fought hard for his second and deserves a winning turn.

"He probably went as good as he can go," said trainer Mark Walker.

Passchendaele did well for a mare having her first crack at weight-for-age racing and still deserves her favouritism for the $1 million Stella Artois Auckland Cup, where she drops from the 57kg on Saturday to 52kg.

Monaco Consul's effort to be right behind the placegetters was interesting. He came off the bit at the 500m after trailing the leaders then got going again late and the final 100m was probably the strongest part of his race.