Leovanni lands Highway win

New Zealand-bred mare Leovanni (NZ) (Proisir) capped a highly successful 10 minutes for Rich Hill Stud stallion Proisir with victory in the A$120,000 TAB Highway Plate (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

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 (NZ) (Proisir), 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 (Puissance De Lune) 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 (NZ), 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 (NZ) and Ready To Strike (NZ).

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.