Well-travelled Redoute’s Choice mare Melito was in the news on Thursday as the dam of the impressive debutant Pleasant Man who picked up a £25,000 Tattersalls bonus for his win in the EBF Novice Stakes (1m) at Haydock.
Ridden by Jason Watson for trainer Roger Charlton, Pleasant Man came clear in the closing stages in testing conditions to defeat The Queen’s New Approach colt Pied Piper by one and a quarter lengths with a further two and a quarter lengths back to the Australia colt Outback Boy in third.
Purchased by Badger’s Bloodstock for 140,000 guineas out of the Newsells Park draft in book one of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Pleasant Man holds an entry for the Group II Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes and has been nominated for next year’s Derby at Epsom.
Trained by Gerald Ryan, Melito started in 16 Group 1 races, winning two of them the T.J. Smith Stakes and the Winter Stakes and placing in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes, Coolmore Classic, Stradbroke Handicap, Doomben 10,000, BTC Cup, All Aged Stakes and Thousand Guineas. on the way to accumulating almost $2m million in prizemoney.
A $600,000 Magic Millions yearling, Melito was purchased by Tom Magnier at the 2012 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $1,650,000.
The three-quarter sister to Arrowfield Stud's popular young stallion Pariah was in foal to champion sire Encosta de Lago. She subsequently foaled a colt that was sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $400,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling sale.
Named Campbell Junior he is a 5-time winner and has placed three times at Group II and Group III level.
Melito was exported to Ireland in 2014 and was later sold to dissolve a partnership between Coolmore and China Horse Club. Katsumi Yoshida signed the ticket for €950,000 at the 2017 Goffs Ireland November Breeding Stock Sale
She was carrying Pleasant Man at the time, so Yoshida’s Northern Farm is credited as the breeder.
Melito is now in Japan where she foaled a filly by the former Arrowfield stud shuttler Mikki Isle (JPN) this year.
