Leica Lucy (NZ) Surges Up NZB Filly of the Year Leaderboard

Back-to-back runaway victories at Trentham have put classy filly Leica Lucy (NZ) (Derryn) well within striking range in the NZB Filly of the Year Series.

The Robbie Patterson-trained runner lived up to her $1.40 favouritism with a dominant performance in Saturday’s seventh leg of the series, the $200,000 Group Three NZB Desert Gold Stakes (1600m). She had previously romped home in last month’s Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) over the same course and distance, and she now has 12 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series.

Alabama Lass (Alabama Express) and Captured By Love (Written Tycoon) still top the table with 21 and 15 points respectively, but they are both now on a sprinting path centred around next week’s Group One Sistema Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie. They are unlikely to add to their tallies, meaning the third-placed Leica Lucy could be the one to watch through the final two months of the series.

Saturday’s Desert Gold Stakes was only the fourth career start for Leica Lucy, who has collected three wins and a placing and has earned $194,885 in stakes for owner-breeders Heather and Peter Crofskey. She won on debut at New Plymouth in early November, then finished second over 1400 metres at Trentham before her back-to-back Group Three successes over the metric mile.

Leica Lucy was expected to be a class above her rivals in Saturday’s Desert Gold Stakes, and that was how it worked out despite a few nervous moments early in the run home. She was boxed in and trapped behind a wall of horses coming around the turn, but jockey Craig Grylls switched back to the inside and found an opening two off the fence.

Grylls pushed the button and Leica Lucy accelerated explosively, blasting clear of the field. Despite easing down in the final 50 metres, she still had a length and a quarter up her sleeve at the finish line. Eulogy Stakes runner-up Connello (NZ) (Time Test) filled the same position again in the Desert Gold, with Renovations (NZ) (Ardrossan) third.

“She was like a lamb last start but was a bit worked up before the race today, so I was a bit worried,” Grylls said. “But as soon as she came out of the gates she dropped the bit and relaxed nicely.

“I got her buzzed up turning in, and although I didn’t have a lot of options, good horses get you out of trouble. When the gap opened up, she did the rest. She has a ton of improvement in her too.”

Patterson is working towards the $1m Group One Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham in March, where the winner receives 12 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series.

“It was tough watching her get held up early in the straight,” Patterson said. “But she went bang once she got clear, which is the sign of a good horse.

“I hadn’t done a lot with her since her last race, because I know how long the season is. I was a bit concerned she was above herself today, but I’ve had some good horses and this one could be the best I’ve had.

“I want to win the Oaks again and I think I have the right horse for it. I won it with Legs (NZ) (Pins) when I was in partnership with Kevin Gray, and I think this one might even be a little better than her.”

The next leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series is the $275,000 Group Two David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m), which will be run at Te Rapa on February 8.