This G1 at WFA for all comers over 1600m saw the favourite Melody Belle win easily and score her fourth win at this level and race type for the season. The 4yo also won her first race with a double-digit draw but today wide gates feasted on an awfully biased and wet Otaki track, where the insides lanes were absolute no go zones. The winners and where they turned for home in race order were third (six-off the fence and half a length from the leader), seventh (ten-off the fence and three lengths from the leader), third (two-off the fence and a length from the leader), sixth (eight-wide turning in and four lengths from the leader), sixth (ten-wide turning in and three lengths from the leader), led (ten-wide turning in), third (twelve-wide (second widest) turning in and one length from the leader) and sixth (nine-wide turning in and half a length from the leader). Melody Belle sat sixth and wide with no cover and then moved four-wide midrace before coming up deeper near the home turn and the 4yo mare was second widest out and third turning for home a dozen widths away from the inside fence. She took the lead at the 200m and went clear at the 100m on Slow8 footing to score by almost two lengths in 1:36.27 on an incredibly biased Otaki track all day. The watering off the track that took place in the days leading up to the meeting was a howler as natural rain, which was forecast, ensured the track that looked motley anyway would never come back to anywhere even dead footing. If no watering took place close to raceday then the track would have been in the Dead (Easy) range and ideal for all but this believing weather reports one G1 meeting and then not believing weather reports the next G1 meeting has become cumbersome and an absolute absurdity. To try and control and beat and defy nature is a surefire loser every single time and why it happens most on G1 raceday in New Zealand is devastating for the credibility and financial well being of the sport and business. The fact it keeps happening and is allowed too speaks volumes when the dictionary definition of insanity is repeating the same failed things over and over again hoping for a different outcome. Melody Belle was winning her tenth race from nineteen starts and her fifth G1 (four have come this season all at WFA at 1400m or 1600m). The 4yo mare is by an Australian sire Commands but out of a New Zealand dam and was foaled in New Zealand and she has been the dominant sprinter-miler this season locally. Wyndspelle ran another second and the allergic to winning 5yo entire (he has won just three races from thirty-four starts) got back on the inner and his rider cut the corner saving a heap of ground and actually led six-off the fence turning for home. He was headed at the 200m but fought on well to record his fifth G1 placing. Consensus led the outer on settling and put a length on her rivals midrace only to be headed near the home turn but the 7yo mare was third at the 300m and fought well to just hold onto that finishing spot. The fact that she and Wyndspelle could G1 place says more about the field depth than anything else and the state of WFA in New Zealand at the moment. More Wonder ran home strongly for fourth and the 3yo now has had four runs at G1 this season for two fourths and two fifths and his backers and trainers and owners must be wondering will they ever get any luck. Bostonian raced third mostly and was fourth turning for home then whacked away to finish fourth beaten just over two and a half lengths but he is a level below the top grade for sure. He is a wet tracker (five of his seven career wins have come on slow or heavy footing) so had conditions to suit today. Shadows Cast whacked away too after being fourth early then sixth or seventh midrace before turning for home tenth and reached sixth at the 200m. Supera caught the eye finishing seventh beaten four and a half lengths after being last and wide midrace. Volpe Veloce flattered to deceive again with a weak eighth beaten five and a half lengths after racing fifth the inner and then getting off and between runners across the top. The mare now has had nine runs at G1 for a win (set weights and penalties over 1200m with 54kg) and no placings. Boots 'N' All the South Islander was last away and never looked a possibility while Ladies First plugged away from the rear duo. The rest got beaten over eight lengths and up to almost thirty lengths looking outclassed or unhappy in the dreadful footing presented. Endless Drama the Australian visitor has only won three races lifetime and at the G1 level including today had raced ten times for two placings. He raced near the pace and stopped the run home to finish second last. The now 7yo entire does not like wet ground as his record shows with on slow and heavy footing just the one win and that came as juvenile in Ireland. He was found post race to have a poor recovery. This was not a strong G1 at all as so many runners competed that are nowhere near this standard and especially under the WFA scale plus a lot of this field are very rare saluters. Also the presented Slow8 biased track and the days results are borderline meaningless except as a future wet track guide. Melody Belle likes wet ground and in her four G1 wins this season the runners up have been Hi Flyer, Savvy Coup, Bostonian and Wyndspelle tellingly. Three of those four have been beaten convincingly in Australian multiple times and the other Bostonian won as a 3yo in Queensland but has been found out this season (last four runs at G1 have returned one second (to Melody Belle). It is the same old same old runners running against each other and Melody Belle is superior this season over to be generous, a very lacklustre bunch and most will be going around next season and the next and so on. The WFA depth is appalling at the moment in New Zealand and the handicap level is not much better. Sensei on the same day as Melody Belle won was demolished with 52kg in the G1 Oakleign Plate at Caufield when second last and beaten nine lengths. He had at his prior run finished third equal in the G1 Telegraph 1200m at set weights and penalties (carried 55.5kg) run in supposedly 1:06.95 and he sat five-wide all the way, so the form makes a mockery of itself and the times posted are never ever to be believed and rightly so. Melody Belle will win Horse of The Year and best Sprinter/Miler unless something gets a major G1 win in Melbourne or Sydney in the Autumn, as the Queensland Winter is not really of the level of Victoria and New South Wales. The depth is diminishing at an alarming rate across the board (stayers, sprinters, age group, WFA and Handicap level) and the only area that is still barely holding back the Ratings dam is fillies and mares, a bastion of New Zealand thoroughbred performance and Blacktype. Australian bred runners are starting to really get a performance foothold in age group and sprinting plus staying races (the latter is sacrilege surely to all Kiwi's) in New Zealand and now fillies and mares are well and truly under siege. The landscape will change forever if something is not done to properly address a clearly colossal problem and New Zealand G1's may soon be put into a separate deemed inferior tier of not International standard and be asterisked as so.