Horse racing: Levante may find herself in uncharted territory

Ryan Elliot salutes after Levante takes her second consecutive Gr.1 JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham Photo/Race Images- Peter Rubery NZH 15Jan23 - Ryan Elliot salutes after Levante wins the Telegraph. Photo / Race Images NZH 08Feb23 - Levante is the best she has been all season as she prepares to defend her BCD Sprint title at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo / Race Images

Millionaire mare Levante may find herself in relatively uncharted territory in her Group 1 assignment at Otaki on Saturday and that can only aid her chances.

The two-time Telegraph winner has opened the $2.30 favourite for the $300,000 WFA Classic, a mile dominated by fellow Matamata stable.

Against Levante will be La Crique as well as a trio from the Mark Walker stable representatives in Prise De Fer, Perfect Scenario and three-year-old Wild Night.

Most of them are more proven over a mile than Levante but co-trainer Ken Kelso is adamant his wonderful mare will relish the step up in distance after closing late over 1400m in the BCD Sprint at Te Rapa last start.

“She is ready for the 1600m and her work has been good,” says Kelso.

The step up in distance, coupled with drawing barrier two, should see Levante get her chance to settle in the first half of the field should jockey Ryan Elliot want her there and that is a luxury she has rarely been afforded.

Levante used to be very slow out and disconnect from the back of the field, making for some spectacular but expensive performances.

She has improved her barrier manners greatly and was even able to settle in the one-one in a recent trial. But just as importantly moving to 1600m means getting away from real speedsters such as Babylon Berlin who put so much early speed into the 1200-1400m races that even on her best behaviour Levante would often find herself back in the field.

“I’d like to think that she can settle handier at the 1600m but I am not worrying too much about that,” says Kelso. “She is well and ready for the distance so my main concern is the weather.

“They could get some rain down there and if that makes the track a [rating] five or six that would actually suit us. But if it gets wetter than that that could play against us.”

Like many horses with a couple of seasons at the elite level, Levante doesn’t enjoy the firm going these days but if the rain hits Otaki anything and the track becomes approaching heavy, which looks unlikely, it would not aid favourite backers.

One thing Levante hasn’t lacked is a quality trackwork partner as she galloped with Group 1-winning stablemate Legarto on Tuesday morning.

“I was happy with how they worked together and Legarto will have an exhibition gallop between races here [Matamata] on Saturday.” Legarto travels to Melbourne next Tuesday to take on the boys in the Australian Guineas at Flemington on March 4.

Kelso says Legarto’s connections have made no decisions about her plans after the Guineas so are not even thinking about heading to Sydney and races such as the ATC Oaks.

A quality meeting at Matamata will see the strength of the jockey’s ranks split this weekend, with premiership leaders Michael McNab and Craig Grylls at Otaki but Opie Bosson and Craig Zackey at Matamata.

Warren Kennedy misses this weekend through a delayed suspension.