Westbury Classic Stunner by Levante

Racing fans were left shaking their heads at Ellerslie on Saturday evening after witnessing exciting mare Levante take out the Gr2 Westbury Classic (1400m). For those who had never seen the Proisir four-year-old in action before, they could have been forgiven for ripping up their betting tickets up at the 600m as the $1.40 favourite was dead last in the ten-horse field and struggling to catch the runners immediately ahead of her. Rider Sam Collett was left shaking her head as the Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare simply looped around the outside of all runners shortly after straightening for the run home and then hit the afterburners – scorching down the middle of the track for the easiest 2-lengthvictory you might ever see. “She was flat, not travelling that great and a long way off them,” Collett told NZ Racing Desk. “I had to keep my composure and keep her balanced but when I asked her in those first few strides she just surged and I knew then it was going to be okay. “She just seems to get lower and longer and you probably don’t appreciate just how fast she is.” Levante has now won six of her 8 starts for her owners that include Ancroft Stud’s Phillip Brown and his wife Catherine, former Waikato Racing Club Chief Executive Tony Enting and former touring golf professional Mark Tapper. Her Rich Hill Stud-based sire Proisir has 7 individuals catalogued for the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale that kicked off yesterday at Karaka.

Levante was imperious from the rear of the field (pic: Trish Dunell)