Kelso has Legarto set to soar in Golden Eagle

The old saying suggests a trainer will never retire when there's an untested two-year-old in their stable.

After all, the horse could be "The One". You just never know when the next champion might emerge.

Take Ken Kelso for example. He trains in partnership with his wife, Bev, and they were considering retiring from the sport a couple of years ago.

He even made mention to some close friends of their plans.

But then along came Legarto and suddenly any talk of retirement was quashed.

"We are both getting on a bit but we still have a few in work,'' Kelso said from his Matamata stable base in New Zealand.

"Although we are keeping our numbers down to a select team, we plan to keep going for a while now.

"When you have a good horse like Legarto, you want to keep going. She makes it easier to get out of bed for trackwork on those cold, wet mornings.''

Legarto, a modestly-bred mare, has won seven of her nine races but arguably should be unbeaten.

She's already won twice at Group 1 level in the NZ 1000 Guineas and the Australian Guineas last season.

"She should nearly be unbeaten,'' Kelso said.

"She was very unlucky in the Karaka Millions when she got flattened at the 400m.

"Then at Hastings first-up, she got out of her ground a bit and was awkwardly placed but found the line strongly. She won her last start so she's coming to Sydney in good form.''

Ken Kelso hugs jockey Michael Dee after Legarto won the Australian Guineas. Picture: Reg Ryan/Racing Photos via Getty Images

At Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, the talented Legarto is rated one of the main chances in the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m).

The race is restricted to four-year-olds and the almost unimaginable prizemoney is one of the main reasons Kelso decided to target the rich Rosehill race.

"It is pretty hard to turn down a $10 million race with a good four-year-old like this mare,'' Kelso said.

Legarto is among five mares who will contest the Golden Eagle. The final field of 20 was announced on Tuesday and includes:

■ Eight individual Group 1 winners and another five who have been Group 1-placed

■ There are 14 runners with a rating of 102 or higher

■ Last season's classic winners Golden Mile (Caulfield Guineas), Communist (Randwick Guineas), Legarto (Australian Guineas) and Kovalica (Queensland Derby)

■ Group 1 mile winners Rediener (Epsom Handicap) and Attrition (Toorak Handicap), plus Amelia's Jewel (Northerly Stakes) and Ruthless Dame (Robert Sangster Stakes)

■ Two northern hemisphere trained runners Obamburumai (Japan) and Galeron (England)

■ Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller has five starters – Kovalica, Rediner, Osipenko, Age Of Kings and Vienna Princess

Kelso, quietly spoken but thoughtful and deliberate, is regarded as a consummate horseman. He only has a relatively small team in training but always seems to have a good horse in his care.

Before Legarto burst on to the scene, Kelso had been trying without success for many years to win a Group 1 race in Australia.

He came close way back in 1995 when his good filly Love Dance ran Circles Of Gold to a half-length in the AJC Australian Oaks at Randwick.

Circles Of Gold was an outstanding racehorse and trained on to run second in Arctic Scent's Caulfield Cup in 1996 before achieving even greater fame at stud.

Elvstroem won five Group 1 races including the 2004 Caulfield Cup beating Hall of Famer Makybe Diva, and the 2005 Dubai Duty Free Stakes at the Dubai World Cup meeting.

Haradasun was also an international trailblazer, following his Group 1 wins in the 2007 George Ryder Stakes and Doncaster Handicap with his triumph in the 2008 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Kelso trained Love Dance to win two Group 1 races in New Zealand as an older horse but the Oaks at Randwick was the one that got away.

"I guess we were a bit unlucky to bump into a good one like Circles Of Gold, but that was a long, long time ago,'' Kelso said.

"Love Dance didn't do all that well at stud but her daughters are going nicely. It often happens (skips a generation) like that.''

Kelso made the occasional foray back Australia in the years after Love Dance but it wasn't until Levante emerged that he came close to winning at Group 1 level in this country.

Levante was an outstanding sprinter-miler and won five Group 1 races in New Zealand including successive Telegraph Handicaps in 2022-23.

Kelso campaigned Levante three times in Australia for a fourth placing in the 2022 Newmarket Handicap (autumn) and Champions Sprint (spring).

She also had a two-start Sydney autumn campaign earlier this year and ran fifth to Anamoe in the George Ryder before finishing sixth behind Atishu in the Queen of the Turf Stakes. She was then retired to stud and was served by Arrowfield Stud's super sire Snitzel this spring.

But Levante's success led to Kelso securing Legarto at the Karaka yearling sales.

"We were having success with Levante who was by Proisir so we were on the lookout for another yearling by the sire,'' Kelso said.

"Then we spotted Legarto at Karaka. She wasn't a standout pedigree wise and out of an older mare as well but she was just a lovely filly, very, very strong. We fell in love with her and paid $90,000 for her.''

Legarto resumed with a win in the Matamata Cup last month. Picture: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

Legarto has proven to be a very astute investment. She has won seven of her nine races, earning just over $1 million prizemoney already with the promise of plenty more to come.

And she gave Kelso that elusive Group 1 win in this country when she finished fast to run down Attrition near the line to win the Australian Guineas at Flemington earlier this year.

"The form out of the Guineas was franked when Attrition came out and won the Toorak,'' Kelso pointed out.

"She has come up really well this spring, too. We had a bit of a hiccup with a wet track at Hastings and we had to scratch her on race morning.

"But we went to the Matamata Cup a week later and it worked out quite nicely. She had a bit of weight but it was quite a soft win under the circumstances.''

Kelso said the likelihood of a firm track for the Golden Eagle will be ideal for his outstanding mare.

"She appreciates it a bit better, a good track is definitely her best surface,'' Kelso said.

"There are no fears going the Sydney way, either. She went well at Pukekohe when she won the Eight Carat Classic.

"She trains both ways here at Matamata. She is quite good on both legs so I don't think that will be an issue.''

Kelso gave Legarto an exhibition gallop between races at Rotorua last week before the mare had her final serious workout at Matamata on Tuesday morning but she was loaded on a plane bound for Sydney – but only half the training partnership came with the mare.

"Bev won't make it to Sydney for the race,'' Kelso said.

"My wife hasn't been particularly well but she will be watching from home cheering from the couch.''

If Legarto can become the second mare after Colette (2020) to win the Golden Eagle, then it will be the perfect tonic for Bev Kelso.

TAB Fixed Odds price assessors have Legarto at $8 in latest betting behind Amelia's Jewel at $4.50 favourite.

Kelso said The Everest received plenty of media coverage with Waikato Stud-owned I Wish I Win eventually finishing second to Think About It and now it is his turn with Legarto flying the New Zealand flag in the Golden Eagle.

But the New Zealand trainer is under no illusions about the task confronting his mare at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

"For $10 million, you would expect it to be a very good field,'' Kelso said.

"We are happy with our mare but this is going to be a hard race to win.''