Trainers Ken and Bev Kelso look to have yet another high-class female on their hands with Legarto’s little sister Latoya making an impressive winning debut at Ruakaka on Saturday.
The two-year-old Proisir filly had looked good when winning a trial at Avondale last month and went into her first-up performance as a $3.30 favourite off the back of that performance and fair few whispers around her potential.
Punters earned their money the hard way as rider Jasmine Fawcett got parked out three wide throughout the 1200m contest.
Fawcett didn’t panic and calmly moved the filly to the front rounding the home bend, where she found a strong kick to push past pacemaker Fraudster and hold out all chasers with something in hand by just under a length at the line.
The Kelsos were watching on from their Matamata home and Ken admitted he had a little crisis of confidence halfway down the straight when he saw the challengers rushing at his charge.
“I was quite surprised how short she was, even with the trial win, while the draw wasn’t that good, “ Kelso said.
“Her work had been good and she really is a little professional, but I did think we were in trouble in the straight and the others might get to her, but when Jasmine gave her a flick with the whip she grabbed the bit again.
“We will get her home now and see how she does but our initial thoughts were to give her a short break now and then bring her back to look at some of those good stakes races for the fillies in the spring.”
Fawcett had been confident before the race and confirmed the filly rounded off the performance with ease.
“She jumped really well and I’d thought I’d sit where I was rather than use her up or pull her back to find a position,” she said.
“She relaxed beautifully there and she had the ability to get the job done.”
Bred and raced by Warwick Jeffries, Latoya is the final foal of Towkay mare Geordie Girl. Her extended family includes outstanding racemare Legarto who won $3.6 million in a storied career that featured five Group One wins, including the 2023 Australian Guineas (1600m), while stakes winners Kekova and Rapid Kay also feature.
Proisir also featured at Randwick where Leovanni captured the $120,000 Highway Handicap Plate (1600m) .
The win came just moments after a two-year-old race at Ruakaka in which Latoya, a full-sister to the five-time Group One winner Legarto, made an impressive winning debut.
Leovanni took a little longer than that to open her winning account, clearing maiden ranks at start number 12 at Tamworth on July 3. But she headed to Randwick only eight days later and went back-to-back.
“She's probably the best galloper in my stable, but she's just got a few head noises,” trainer Cameron Crockett said. “She has cost herself more races, so she should have gotten a few by now.
“Sometimes people wait too long to take them to town and they carry big weights because of it, which makes it harder.
“If they’ve got the ability, you just bring them to town. That’s what I’ve done with her.
“I wasn't 100 per cent sure if she'd handle the heavy conditions today, but she's got a New Zealand pedigree and was given a light weight, so I had to roll the dice.
“It's taken her a while to work it out and she's not the easiest horse to ride, but she does have a lot of ability.”
Leovanni was ridden by Alysha Collett and tracked the $1.50 favourite Moon Sweeper before hooking to the outside of that rival in the straight to launch her run.
Moon Sweeper had taken command and opened up a clear lead with 200m remaining, but Leovanni slowly but surely wore him down and edged past to win by half a length.
“All I wanted to find was that grey horse's bottom and once I did, I knew I was going to go past it at some stage,” Collett said.
Leovanni is by Proisir out of the winning Colombia mare Amparo, who is a three-quarter-sister to stakes winner Aimee’s Idol. The latter is the dam of Proisir’s Group Three-winning daughter Aimee’s Jewel, while the pedigree page also features the multiple black-type winners Irish Girl and Ready To Strike.
Leovanni was offered by Kilgravin Lodge at the 2023 NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, where Blandford Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock bought her for $210,000.
From a 13-start career, Leovanni has now recorded two wins and eight placings and has earned A$114,850. - NZ Racing Desk
