Legarto (NZ) Lights Up 1000 Guineas

After a dazzling performance in the $400,000 Group One Barneswood Farm 50th New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), one name stands alone at the top of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series points table – and as a standout among her generation of New Zealand three-year-olds. 

Legarto (NZ) (Proisir) extended her perfect record to four-out-of-four with a dominant victory in Monday’s third leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series at Riccarton, which leaves her in a commanding lead with 18 points. Bought for only $90,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2021, she has now earned over $300,000.

The Ken and Bev Kelso-trained filly had already made a big impression in her first three starts, culminating in a powerful victory in last month’s Group Three Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Te Rapa. That earned her 6 points and a share of the NZB Filly of the Year Series lead alongside fellow Group Three winner Best Seller (NZ) (Wrote). Monday’s 1000 Guineas again had those two fillies in the top two positions, but this time there was a significant gap between them.

There was a pre-race scare when Legarto’s bridle broke and the race start was delayed by several minutes, but the fillies’ classic was plain sailing for the hot favourite from the moment the gates opened.

Legarto cruised around the track near the tail of the nine-horse field, and when rider Ryan Elliot released the brakes at the top of the straight, she produced a turn of foot that only the very special talents possess.

Legarto bounded to the lead with ease and didn’t stop there, opening up a winning margin of four and three-quarter lengths over Best Seller and the third-placed Blue Solitaire (NZ) (Almanzor).

“I aged about 10 years with the drama at the start,” Ken Kelso admitted. “It’s a big relief, and I don’t want to go through that again. I’m glad it’s all over. It’s a huge result.”

Legarto became the first unbeaten filly to win the New Zealand 1000 Guineas since Seachange (NZ) (Cape Cross) in 2005.

“She was just absolutely trotting and was sensational,” Elliot said. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”

Legarto was bought at Karaka 2021 by Ancroft Stud’s Phillip Brown, who shares the filly with a similar syndicate of owners to the one that races dual Group One winner Levante (NZ) (Proisir). Among them is Tony Enting, the former chief executive of the Waikato Racing Club.

“We didn’t need the nerve-racking experience beforehand,” Enting said. “She generally is a very placid sort of horse, and we weren’t expecting that. The nerves were getting worse and worse all the time, but she did the job.

“We made a point of never comparing Legarto with Levante, because Levante’s up there still, but this girl’s catching up. We’re just thrilled.”

Legarto now leads the NZB Filly of the Year Series by a margin of four points over Best Seller, whose runner-up finish in Monday’s big race pushed her up to 14 points. Blue Solitaire has joined the table in third spot with 6 points, followed by Romancing The Moon (NZ) (El Roca) and Sans Doute (Not A Single Doubt) on 3 apiece.

Attention will now shift to Awapuni for the fourth leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series, the $85,000 Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) on December 10.

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