Legarto legs it to 1000 Guineas victory
Top filly Legarto overcame pre-race drama to maintain her unbeaten record in the group one New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton yesterday.
A hot $1.35 favourite for the $400,000 three-year-old fillies’ classic which was postponed from Saturday, Legarto proved difficult to load into the starting gates, and gave her connections and backers a scare when her bridle broke.
The other runners were backed out of the gates as Legarto’s bridle was replaced, but she was still reluctant to take her place when the runners were loaded a second time and was a little fractious once she was in the gate prior to the field being sent on their way.
However, everything went smoothly for both Legarto and jockey Ryan Elliot as she unleashed a devastating turn of foot 300m from the line, scoring by 43⁄ lengths
4 from Best Seller, with Blue Solitaire the best of the trio saddled by Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong in third place.
‘‘I aged about 10 years with the drama at the start,’’ Legarto’s cotrainer Ken Kelso said.
‘‘It’s a big relief, and I don’t want to go through that again. I’m glad it’s all over.’’
It was payback of sorts for Kelso, who trains with his wife Bev at Matamata, after some unfortunate defeats in the race, most notably with Bounding, who was beaten into second as an odds-on favourite in 2013 after being caught three wide for the journey.
Elliot said the pre-race drama was something he didn’t need on such a short-priced favourite but that the race itself was drama-free by comparison.
Favourites also took out the other two features: the Stewards Stakes (1200m) and New Zealand Cup (3200m), both at group three level.
Buoyant, trained by Sabin Kirkland in Invercargill and ridden by Michael McNab, was too strong for the Kevin Myers-trained Kopua in the Stewards as a $3.60 favourite, winning by three lengths.
Myers later had something to celebrate when Aljay, ridden by Tina Comignaghi and a $2.80 favourite, held off the Ashley Meadows-trained Inmyshadow by a long head in a stirring finish to the 159th edition of the two-mile race.