Matamata trainers Ken & Bev Kelso won’t be retiring from racing anytime soon with their gun young filly Legarto earning a 2023 Cox Plate target following a brave effort to beat home the locals in the Group 1 $1 million Australian Guineas (1600m) on Saturday.
2022 Australian Guineas winner Legarto is likely to return to Melbourne in the spring to target the Cox Plate. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
It was a marred 38th edition of the Australian Guineas at Flemington with a major fall seeing jockeys Ethan Brown (Maximillius) and Mark Zahra (Holymanz) thrown from their horses inside the home straight.
Both the fallen horses escaped serious injury standing and finishing the race riderless before returning to their stalls and coming away with only minor abrasions.
Zahra walked from the track, while Brown was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition with suspected abdominal injuries.
One of the horses involved in the incident, Maximillius, was the front-runner leading the field around right until falling.
All eyes quickly went to those horses that managed to seer clear including the fast-finishing Attrition for Mitchell Freedman who was working home nicely up the middle.
Also coming home strongly at any old price was Michael Moroney‘s $101 outsider Japanese Emperor.
The lightly-raced roughie went stride for stride the closing stages with Legarto who worked her way into the finish out of nowhere thanks to a brilliant ride by the in-form Michael Dee.
After getting stuck on a pocket about a furlong out from the line, Dee never panicked and Legarto had the brilliant late finishing burst to beat home the boys in the last few metres finishing just ahead of Attrition (2nd) and Japanese Emperor (3rd).
“I ended up on the back of Attrition coming into the straight and thought that horse was going to take he through,” Dee, winner of last weekend’s Blue Diamond Stakes aboard Little Brose, told Racing.com.
“I was left in a pocket there for quite some time and to Legarto’s credit, wow, she’s got a very, very good turn of foot.
“It was an amazing effort.
“She’s still on the way up that’s for sure. She’s only lightly raced she arguably should be unbeaten.
“I think she could come back in the spring and she could be anything.”
The daughter of Proisir had won all but one of her previous starts at home across the Tasman including the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas (1600m).
There were excuses for her lead-up loss as the beaten favourite over the same distance in January, and the talented youngster was quick to atone in her down under debut.
It was a phenomenal performance by the Australian Guineas winner who was so strong the final 100m to produce an X-factor finish.
“She’s just an amazing filly,” co-trainer Ken Kelso said.
“Probably 100 (metres) out you thought you were going to run fifth, sixth seventh or eighth.
“She does things other horses can’t do. She’s pretty special.”
Legarto become the sixth filly to take out the event to date and the first since Mystic Journey (2019).
“She’s just incredible, every time she races I stand here with my mouth hope like how the hell did she do that?” Bev Kelso added.
Plans are to now return to New Zealand and give Legarto a well-deserved break ahead of a likely spring return to target Moonee Valley’s Group 1 $5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) on October 28.
“We’ll take her home and come back in the spring,” Kelso said.
“We think she should probably have a bit of a break and have a dream of Cox Plates and Caulfield Cups sort of thing.
“I said we wouldn’t retire until we won a Group 1 in Australia. Just massive, I can’t believe it.”
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