Superstar sprinter and miler Levante will present buyers with an incredible opportunity when she goes under the hammer at May's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The four time Group One winner, who is contesting Saturday's $1 million Group One Sydney Queen of the Turf Stakes at Randwick, will be offered as an elite racing and breeding proposition.
Levante has established herself as one of Australasia's best racemares over the past year and boasts an incredible record of 12 wins and five placings from just 22 starts.
Under the care of Matamata trainers Ken and Bev Kelso the mighty Levante won two Group One races in 2022 and so far in 2023 has notched another two.
Her Group One haul began with success in the 2022 Telegraph Stakes (1200m) when she beat Roch 'n' Horse in a driving finish. She proved that was no fluke when at her very next start she comfortably accounted for Entriviere and co in the Waikato Sprint (1400m).
Levante's 2023 record includes her back to back victory in the Telegraph Stakes when she was too good for Babylon Berlin in January and an easy win over La Crique in the Otaki WFA Stakes (1600m).
One of Levante's best attributes is her record across distances and track types. She is a stakes winner at distances from 1200 to 1600 metres and a feature winner on firm and soft ground.
As well as being an outstanding racemare, Levante possesses a quality pedigree. One of 13 stakes winners for Proisir (also sire of The Prowess), Levante is one of five winners for the Doyoun mare Island Doy.
Two of Levante's half sisters, Doyenne and Miss Isle, are both black type performers and they have subsequently produced the current three-year-old stakes winning fillies Maven Belle (Manawata Sires' Produce Stakes G1) and Sophmaze.
"It's been an amazing journey," Levante's part owner Philip Brown said. "We could never had dreamed that she would develop into a multiple Group One winner."
For Brown, his love affair with Levante started on Day One when she was born at his Ancroft Stud.
"I foaled her down for the breeder and I just fell in love with her right from the start. I had a paddock full of fillies on the farm and I told my wife that I wanted her and she wasn't sure what I was thinking - but she's delighted we did the deal."
Brown felt the young Levante would be the perfect horse to race with mates - "enjoy days at the races, going to see her race and to have a couple of beers!" He did a private deal with the breeder and the rest, as they say, is history.
"Right from the start she showed she was above average," Brown noted. "We were delighted when she was a stakes winners and then a group winner and now to have won four Group Ones is amazing."
Brown rightly noted that Levante's Group One form in New Zealand sprinting races over the past couple of years was coming at a time when the level of horse across the Tasman was at such a high level.
"Mike Moroney, who trains Roch 'n' Horse, said it last year and it's only gotten stronger. Horses like Levante, Roch 'n' Horse, Imperatriz and Babylon Berlin have been matching up with the best sprinters in the world."
Connections of Levante will be in attendance when she goes under the hammer on Day One of the National Broodmare Sale - May 23.
"I will be there for sure," Brown said. "It will be an emotional day - it will be one of those happy and sad moments."
"She was purchased by a group of mates, she's given us the most amazing thrills and we just felt it was the right time for her to take the next step."
Levante will be offered through the Blue Sky Premium Consignment draft.
"I'm delighted to have Levante to offer at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale," Blue Sky's Julian Blaxland said. "She's a four time Group One winner with racing upside."
"She's been trained to a tee by Ken and Bev Kelso and she'll be one of the leading chances in the Queen of the Turf on Saturday. Her run in the George Ryder was exceptional (behind Anamoe)."
"It will be an honour to be selling this mare for Mr Brown and his partners and I think she'll be highly sought after. I think she's the best racing prospect being sold in the Southern Hemisphere this year."
Levante is the latest highlight entry for what is shaping as a truly outstanding catalogue for the 2023 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
She joins the earlier announced multiple Group One winners Forbidden Love and Snapdancer, while fellow multiple Group One winning New Zealand mare Conventina Bay is heading to the Gold Coast.
Over 150 stakes performed fillies and mares will be revealed in the online catalogue for the National Broodmare Sale in the coming weeks. Pregnant mares will include group winners or producers covered by the likes of Frankel, Home Affairs, I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Toronado and Zoustar.
