a day ago
Bridal Waltz's stunning upset over She's An Artist in Creswick Stake no surprise to Peter Moody
Bridal Waltz flipped the script on hot favourite She's An Artist to win the Listed AR Creswick Stakes (1200m) at Flemington Saturday.
The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained filly led the field up and refused to wilt as She's An Artist chipped away late.
Bridal Waltz finished third behind She's An Artist the start prior but could not be headed on Saturday as jockey Jamie Melham indicated a two-week turnaround potentially worked against the favourite.
'She went into that (last start) probably slightly underdone and was ready to peak today,' Moody said.
'Obviously respectful of the two that beat her comfortably the other day (She's An Artist and Fieldelo) but we thought we were in the wrong part of the track too.
'We were quietly confident we could turn it around, we just had to hope the favourite maybe wasn't as good as the hype.'
Bridal Waltz 😲😲
The Melhams battled it out down the straight as odds-on favourite She's An Artist loomed to win for Jamie, but couldn't get past Bridal Waltz for Ben!
You couldn't script it (and most punters didn't!) ðŸ'°ðŸ'ƒ @BMelham @moodyracingpgm
â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) July 5, 2025
She's An Artist started $1.30 favourite but could not reel in $13 chance Bridal Waltz.
Duchess Zou finished off nicely to grab third from Fieldelo.
Moody said Bridal Waltz would be freshened up for early spring targets.
'We'll let the dust settle and then pick our mark carefully through the spring,' Moody said.
'We won't get too excited, Listed (today) if we could work on Group 3, Group 2, we know she can run down the Flemington straight.
'The Bobbie Lewis is a nice race where some other horses are maybe getting ready for bigger targets if you're ready for the day you can maybe sneak one of those.'
Jockey Ben Melham controlled the race from the outset.
'We drew the right barrier to control the speed, I felt from that draw I'd be able to dictate the rest of the field,' Melham said.
'That was probably the difference, in saying that though, my filly dug really deep when I needed her to.
'I was able to control the race, control the speed, she's a fit horse, and let down too good for them in the end.'
Melham joked about the potential repercussions of upstaging wife Jamie, the rider of She's An Artist.
'I'd be a fair chance of sleeping in the spare room, I'd imagine,' Melham laughed.
Jamie Melham told stewards She's An Artist raced well but two weeks between runs blunted her finish being only a small filly.
