The retirement of five-time Group One winner Legarto has been confirmed by her principal owners Philip and Catherine Brown.
When the six-year-old won Saturday’s Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) it was accepted that was her final race in this country, but the possibility remained that she would have one further start in the Gr.1 Australian Cup at Flemington on March 28.
However, following discussions between Legarto’s ownership group, which includes trainers Ken and Bev Kelso, the decision has been made to bring down the curtain on her career.
“Bev and I would have loved the opportunity to give her one last race on the same track that she won the Australian Guineas, but we accept the majority decision to retire her now,” Ken Kelso said.
“She’s been a wonderful mare – a horse of lifetime as I stated again on Saturday – and we’re comfortable with her being retired at the top of her game.
“Winning the Herbie Dyke and Bonecrusher Stakes at her last two starts, especially when a lot of people had written her off, that has been immensely satisfying for all of us.”
Legarto credited Opie Bosson with his 100th Group One success when she repeated her 2024 win in last month’s Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and he took his record on her to a perfect two-from-two when she dug deep to beat fellow Proisir six-year-old Waitak in the Bonecrusher Stakes.
Legarto will now be let down and prepared for the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale at the Gold Coast in May, which Philip Brown describes as the logical path to realise her true worth for all concerned.
She was purchased for $90,000 from breeder Warwick Jeffries at the 2021 National Yearling Sale and went on to win 12 times, with just three placings outside the top five in her 24-start career.
After winning the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) in the first half of her three-year-old season, she became the first New Zealand-trained horse to also claim the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m).
With the addition of a $500,000 Champion Stayers’ bonus as a four-year-old on top of her actual race stakes, Legarto’s total earnings topped $3.6 million.
“Racing a horse like her is what you dream of while not really expecting it to come true,” Brown said. “She gave us so many thrills and highs and while it’s difficult to nominate any race in particular, beating the Aussies on their turf in the Australian Guineas has to be right up there.
“Seeing her back to her best in her last two starts has also been special, and for her to go out a winner means so much to everyone involved in her career.
“Ken and Bev, her devoted strapper and work rider Megan Winter, the jockeys associated with her, and the great team of owners that have enjoyed the ride, it all adds up to a fantastic experience that you just can’t match.
“It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this marvelous horse we all know as Lulu, but knowing that she will go to a wonderful new home and be mated with the very best stallions, that’s the future she deserves.” - LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
