Legarto (NZ) Lights Up Matamata With Brilliant Return

Saturday’s $120,000 Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m) at Matamata was the first start in almost a year for Legarto (NZ) (Proisir), and New Zealand’s highest-rated racehorse put on a spectacular show for her hometown crowd.

Legarto was offered by Highline Thoroughbreds in Book 2 of Karaka 2021 and was bought by Ancroft Stud for $90,000. She is the winner of 10 of her 16 starts, placing on another three occasions, and has now earned $2.02m – more than 22 times her purchase price.

Trained at Matamata by Ken and Bev Kelso, Legarto soared to stardom as a three-year-old two seasons ago with wins in five of her six starts. That included Group One triumphs on both sides of the Tasman, taking out the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and the Group One Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington. Legarto added another three wins to her record as a four-year-old, headed by the Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa in February of last year.

But Legarto suffered a minor tendon injury in early August, ending her spring campaign before it had even started. So by the time she lined up in the Lisa Chittick at Matamata, some 322 days had passed since her last-start sixth in last year’s Group One Australian Cup (2000m). And a high-class field of fillies and mares, seven of them Group winners, made Saturday’s race a difficult first-up assignment. But Legarto’s star quality was clear for all to see in an exceptional first-up performance that showed why she is one of New Zealand’s very best.

Legarto and jockey Ryan Elliot dropped back in the early stages of the race and settled in fourth-last. Elliot allowed her to improve her position around the outside of the field coming down the side of the track towards the home turn, and she loomed outside the leaders at the top of the straight.

Elliot urged Legarto on and she rapidly charged to the front. Her job was still not over, beginning to tire as the in-form Acquarello (Written Tycoon) fought back bravely on her inside, but Legarto had too much class and edged ahead to win by half a length.

“I can’t believe it,” Elliot said. “To be honest, I didn’t even know she was in work until Ken rang me up a week ago and asked me to come and gallop her. But Ken had her so forward. I was really surprised how forward she was when I came and rode her.

“That lack of raceday fitness was going to get to her at some stage, but luckily she’s got that class on her side.

“She jumped well today. I didn’t want to do too much on her, but she got into a good rhythm and then we popped out three-wide to get going. She worked through her gears nicely and then let down so well and got there very quickly.

“She might have been coming to the end of it in the last 100m, but she’s such a gutsy and classy mare and she showed that today.”

The Kelsos are now keen to step their stable star back up to Group One company for the $600,000 HKJC World Pool New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie on March 8.

“That was a stunning win, I’ve got no words to describe it,” Ken Kelso said. “She’s been away from the races for 12 months and has just that had one exhibition gallop. When she loomed on the outside at the bend, I thought, ‘We’ve got a chance here. Hopefully she doesn’t come to the end of it.’ But what a horse she is.

“We’ve always said we’ll take things one step at a time in this preparation. Hopefully she’ll come through this run safely, and then we can start working towards our next target, which will probably be the Breeders’ Stakes at Ellerslie in three weeks.”

Vendor	Highline Thoroughbreds
Purchaser	Ancroft Stud (Waikato)
Breeding	Proisir – Geordie Girl
Sale	Lot 804, Karaka 2021 Book 2, $90,000
Bred by	W E Jeffries