Jamie Melham said she felt old after partnering Adelaide trained galloper Pretty Baby to victory in a Stakes race at Sandown.
While Melham’s career has gone on to bigger and better things, Melham remembers partnering Louisiana to victory in a race at Strathalbyn in 2016.
Louisiana is the dam of Pretty Baby who scored an emphatic victory in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1300m) at Sandown on Saturday to cement her position as a leading contender for the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 17.
A $5.50 chance in betting, Pretty Baby registered a 3-Âľ length win from the $3.90 favourite Ghana’s Akan with Portinari ($4) a further half-neck away third.
“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 studied Pretty Baby’s manners in Adelaide and noticed the filly did quite a lot wrong in her races.
“She looked like she was doing things wrong, hanging out, hanging in back in Adelaide, and today she was a little professional,” Melham said.
“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 prepared at Morphettville by Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle.
Richards is no stranger in Melbourne having prepared Gytrash to win the 2020 Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.
Another Group 1 is in his sights with Moyle a relatively new training partner.
Moyle said the pair have a lot of time for the filly and that it was good to see her perform the way she did at her Melbourne debut.
Pretty Baby was lining up for her sixth start since May and Moyle explained the filly had a three-week break following her win at Listed level 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 said Pretty Baby could return for the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 19 or be held back for the Listed Jim Moloney Stakes over the same course and distance eight days later.
