Melchbourne (horse)
Melchbourne (foaled 1971) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. Despite never winning a Group race, she was the top-rated filly of her generation in Britain in 1973, when she won six of her eight races, many of them by wide margins. She won once from three starts in the following year. Background Melchbourne was a "lengthy, shapely" bay mare with a narrow white blae bred in Suffolk by her owner Pearl Lawson Johnston. She was sired by Forlorn River, a high-class sprinter who won the July Cup, Nunthorpe Stakes and Challenge Stakes in 1967. Melchbourne's dam, False Evidence, was of no use as a racehorse, failing to win in fifteen starts on the flat and four over hurdles but was a successful broodmare, going on to produce Cry of Truth. Miss Lawson Johnston, a Master of Foxhounds and Justice of the peace, sent her filly into training with Bruce Hobbs at the Palace House stable in Newmarket, Suffolk. Racing career 1973: two-year-old season On her racecourse debut, Melchbourne made little impression, finishing unplaced in a maiden race at Newmarket Racecourse but then won four consecutive races against modest opposition. She recorded her first victory with a three length win in the five furlong Little John Maiden Stakes at Nottingham Racecourse and followed up by easily defeating twenty-three opponents in the Quickly Plate at Windsor. She won the Palgrave Plate at Yarmouth Racecourse by seven lengths and was then moved up in distance for the July Fillies Stakes over six furlongs at Haydock Park Racecourse. She drew away from her rivals in the last quarter mile to win "in a hack canter" by an officially recorded margin of five lengths, although Timeform reported that she won by ten. Melchbourne was then moved up in class for the Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in late July. She led from the start, but tired in the closing stages and finished fourth behind Celestial Dawn, Highclere and Polygamy. She then returned to Haydock for the St Nicholas Plate over six furlongs in August and produced a "brilliant display", winning by ten lengths from Rouser, a colt who went on to win the Ormonde Stakes. In September the filly was brought back in distance to five furlongs and started 11/4 favourite (after heavy support in the betting market) for the Harry Rosebery Challenge Trophy at Ayr Racecourse. She raced just behind the leaders before moving into the lead two furlongs out but began to tire in the closing stages and had to be driven out to win by three quarters of a length from the colt Daring Boy. 1974: three-year-old season Melchbourne's three-year-old season was restricted to three races, all of them over sprint distances. On her seasonal debut at York Racecourse in May she had little luck in running and finished unplaced behind Noble Mark in the Duke of York Stakes. At Doncaster in June she was assigned top-weight of 133 pounds in a five furlong handicap race and won by half