Melmich to stay on turf, Singspiel Stakes the immediate target

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Following three productive turf starts this winter at Gulfstream Park by Melmich, trainer Kevin Attard said he would likely focus on turf this season for the horse, beginning with the Grade 3, $125,000 Singspiel Stakes over 1 1/2 miles at Woodbine on June 22.

Attard said he would also nominate Melmich to the Grade 3, $125,000 Dominion Day Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on Tapeta on June 30 as a backup option.

Since they claimed Melmich for $20,000 in September 2014, the thought of running the son of Wilko on the turf had not been seriously considered by Attard and owners Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman until this past winter. Attard said the idea had been mentioned in the past, but was not debated by the group.

“He had been running so well [on synthetic and dirt], it was hard to try something different with him,” he said. “His form had been so consistent. Last year might not have been one of his better years, but he had been healthy and sound, so we said let’s take him to Florida and give him a try on the turf and see how he handles that and take it from there. He really took to it.”

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Melmich ran in three stakes on the turf, finishing third in the Chrysaor Stakes before finishing second in both the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida and Grade 2 Pan American Stakes. Melmich finished three-quarters of a length behind Zulu Alpha in the Mac Diarmida and was beaten just a nose by Focus Group in the Pan American.

With success on synthetic, dirt, and now turf, Melmich has proven to be quite versatile, and gives Attard plenty of options moving forward.

“We’ve taken him to Belmont and Santa Anita to run on the dirt and he’s run well,” Attard said. “He’s obviously run well on synthetic. He’s just a good horse. He can run on any kind of surface.”