Levante lifts when it matters
Matamata mares wage war fans wanted with battle in the home straight
Levante is the queen of the New Zealand turf after trumping rival Entriviere in a thrilling BCD Sprint at Te Rapa yesterday.
The Matamata mares waged the war fans wanted to see over the last 300m of the Group 1 1400m in a stride-for-stride battle but Levante was too tough at the line, holding Entriviere in what was a fairer fight than when she beat her in the Telegraph at Trentham four weeks ago.
This time, Levante covered more ground and moved early, and while Entriviere was held up on the home bend, she got clear in plenty of time to run Levante down but could not, making it 2-1 to the winner in their Group 1 battle over the summer.
With New Zealand’s best mare Probabeel racing exclusively in Australia these days, Levante and Entriviere are the new domestic stars, inheriting the title from the retired duo of Melody Belle and Avantage.
But co-trainer Ken Kelso says Levante might soon have to head to Australia to put the icing on her career cake.
“That was very satisfying because the other mare is a very good mare but no horse has ever run past her [Levante] when she has hit the lead,” said Kelso.
“There aren’t a lot of sprint options for her here for the remainder of the season and she does have a couple of entries for races in Sydney and Melbourne. So with MIQ maybe not something we have to worry about soon, Australia could be a possibility.”
So, too, could winning New Zealand Sprinter-Miler of the Year, with Levante now the favourite for that title after Ryan Elliot’s tactical peach of a ride.
While trainer Jamie Richards had to settle for second with Entriviere, two of his other stable fillies captured black-type events yesterday.
Juvenile filly Maven Belle was explosive landing some big bets in the 2YO Classic, the race moved from New Plymouth last week.
Richards suggested she may now step up to take on the boys at Ellerslie in the Diamond Stakes next month, rather than braving the two-week turnaround for the Matamata Breeders Stakes.
The superstar trainer also won the Fillies Classic but not with the horse many punters thought he would.
Huge filly Self Obsession beat her rivals after racing on the speed, while the more favoured Richards runner Belle En Rouge battled into sixth, suggesting the 2400m of next month’s NZ Oaks at Trentham may be outside her range.
Self Obsession is such a natural stayer, by Melbourne Cup winner Shocking, she should be favourite for the Oaks. Three of the other top five in the market are unlikely to head to Trentham, and her $7 Oaks quote looks overs.
● Richards’ roller-coaster day ended on a high when Probabeel started her last campaign before retirement with a dramatic win at Caulfield.
She carried 60kg to win the Bellmaine Stakes for the second straight year but needed the whole of the home straight to get up after hitting an even longer than usual flat spot on the home bend.
The reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year drove hard at the line in the last 50m to show she is ready for the challenge of the A$5 million AllStar Mile in Melbourne next month.