Legarto Flying Ahead of $1million Aotearoa Classic

Media Release - Thursday January 25

Trainers Ken and Bev Kelso couldn’t be happier with heir glamour mare Legarto ahead of Saturday’s inaugural running of the $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m).

Legarto will contest the inaugural $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Saturday.  Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

The Group One winner returned in superb fashion at Ellerslie earlier this month when taking out the Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic Preview (1400m) by two lengths over Saturday race rivals Sacred Satono and Sharp ‘N’ Smart, and she has continued to please her handlers in her work.

“She has really thrived since Ellerslie, she has thrived the whole preparation really,” Ken Kelso told TAB NZ.

“She has done everything right this prep and I couldn’t be happier with her condition going into the race. All you need is a bit of luck.”

Kelso has trained many topliners over his long training career and rates the daughter of Proisir at the top of that list.

“I think she is probably the best, and that is a big call when you have Levante and going way back to Love Dance, Xanadu, and many more,” he said.

“She has certainly got those attributes that make a great horse – she has got a great temperament, she is a good eater, and everything about her is what you look for in a horse.”

Legarto carries the colours of part-owner Philip Brown, who was delighted when he saw gate seven beamed against the Auckland Sky Tower alongside his mare’s name at the barrier draw function on Wednesday night.

“It’s absolutely ideal,” he said. “Catherine (wife) asked me when we were driving up what I would like to draw, and I said seven or eight will be perfect. It is a terrific draw and I think even Ken will be pleased.

“She is in a great space and Ken and Bev do an amazing job. She will acquit herself very well on Saturday.

Advertisement

“It’s exciting, but she has still got to win the race.”

It wasn’t only Brown who was beaming at the barrier function, with punters also in a buoyant mood after TAB bookmakers announced they were paying out on futures bets on Legarto in the Aotearoa Classic.

“We made the decision to pay Legarto out in the futures books in the Aotearoa Classic,” TAB bookmaker Thad Taylor said.

“We have had a good look at the field and we thought this would be a nice promotion to get onboard with.

“It is never a one-horse race, funnier things have happened, but we thought for the evening, for the promotion, for the event, and for the horse, we would pay Legarto out in futures. She was boosted in those markets as well, so all those bets are in TAB customers’ accounts now.”

While shooting to claim the lion’s share in Saturday’s $1 million feature, Legarto will also be aiming to put herself in a good position to claim the $500,000 Summer Series Bonus on offer by Entain and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

The series kicked off in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) where Puntura claimed top honours, and the maximum nine points on offer to contribute towards his series total.

The Aotearoa Classic is the second leg of the series, with horses having had to have contested either of the first two series races to be eligible for the winning bonus, before progressing on to the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 10 and Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on March 9.

At the conclusion of the series, the horse with the highest points will earn a $500,000 bonus for their connections, with the runner-up earning $100,000, and the third placegetter taking home $50,000. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Sunday June 22
Here is the full list of 76 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Bonny Grey Mare Wins G3 Strickland
Last December at Ascot, popular grey mare Admiration Express (My Admiration) nearly caused the upset result of the year when she charged home at odds of 100/1 in the G1 Northerly Stakes for second behind Victorian raider Light Infantry Man.
Highview Makes Welcome Return to Weanling Sale
Many of the vendors at this month’s NZB National Weanling Sale are familiar faces who are renowned for their quality drafts at this sale every year, but the 2025 edition also sees an old friend being welcomed back to the fold.
One to Watch – Scone
Kris Lees often sends a talented horse to the country to cast off maiden status and a two year-old Exceedance gelding did just that on debut at Scone on Monday.
Star Proisir Mare Legarto Wins G1 Herbie Dyke
Matamata trainers Ken and Bev Kelso have long believed Legarto had the potential to excel over 2000m, and their stable star proved them right on Saturday with a sparkling performance in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa.
Big Pay Day Looms for Proisir Mare Legarto
The connections of short-priced favourite Legarto are in for a massive payday following Saturday’s $450,000 Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie, irrespective of the result.
Long Awaited Return for Legarto
Multiple Group One winner Legarto will make her long-awaited return to racing when she heads to her home track at Matamata on Saturday to contest the Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m).
Countdown to NZB’s 2025 Weanling Sale
The countdown to NZB’s 2025 National Weanling Sale is underway, with a compact yet quality catalogue of 134 youngsters, plus 10 supplementary lots, selling this Thursday 26 June at Karaka. 
Aussie Bred HK G3 Double
A pair of Group III races were run at Sha Tin on Sunday with victory in the two last stakes races of the HK season both going to Aussie bred geldings Beauty Joy and Copartner Prance, who is a half-brother to Aquis based sire Kobayashi.
Legarto All Class In Lisa Chittick
After 322 days off the scene, triple Group One winner Legarto made a triumphant return to racing in Saturday’s Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m) at Matamata.