4 Wins 30 Hours - Scottie's Legacy Dominant

Given a gun ride by Victoria's premiership leading jockey Blake Shinn, Scottie’s Legacy (4 m Almanzor – Kay’s Legacy, by Zabeel) won the A$37,500 C + M Build Group Maiden 1600 metres on 24 November at Kilmore (Victoria).

It was the fourth win at different venues for Te Akau stables over 30 hours, following two-year-old colt Return To Conquer (Snitzel) winning the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes on debut at Pukekohe, Bella Voce made it back-to-back wins in the Rating 75 1200 metres at Wanganui, and Savoir Faire (Savabeel) recorded his fourth middle-distance win in the Benchmark 84 2025 metres at Cranbourne.

A jump out winner on 7 October at Cranbourne, Scottie’s Legacy had finished well for third over 1400 metres when debuting last season at Tauranga. She resumed stylishly in the Maiden 1469 metres on 22 October at Kyneton, when having her first start for Te Akau, storming home from last to finish second to race favourite Stupendous (Trapeze Artist), at the same meeting that stable-mate Gruzamba (Grunt) had no trouble justifying hot favouritism with an impressive debut victory in the Maiden 1112 metres.

Although rated Good4 a day out from the meeting, forecast rain saw footing downgrade from Soft7 to Heavy8, but Scottie’s Legacy secured an economical trip from barrier two for Shinn, three back on the inner. She never went around a horse before levelling comfortably at the 200m and while not entirely happy in the going she ended up winning decisively by two lengths. 

“She’s a filly that has developed nicely and going to get over a bit of ground,” said Shinn, who recorded his first race day win 21 years ago at Kilmore, his home course, and since ridden 27 Group One winners.

“I was impressed by the win. She had it won a long way out, didn’t know how to put the second horse away, but the more I encouraged her the more she wanted to find the line and it’s always nice to get a win in these (tangerine) colours.”

Dominant in betting from the outset, Scottie’s Legacy paid $1.80 on the NZ TAB tote and ran 1600 metres in 1:40.7.

“It was great to get the win today at her third start,” Walker said. 

“When we first bought her and got her to Melbourne, she had a few little things go wrong, so we had to spell her again, and I’m thankful to the owners for the patience they’ve shown. 

“We’ll just take her quietly through the grades this season and she’s going to be a really nice staying horse next year.

“She’s got great lung capacity and all the data from track work shows that she has great staying ability.”

Owned by the Te Akau Legacy of Love Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Scottie’s Legacy is from a family well known to Te Akau, through the deeds of Alert (Zabeel), Rise ‘N’ Shine (Zabeel), and Wide Awake (Savabeel), who were bought by David Ellis CNZM and trained by Te Akau to win eight races between them.

The sire of Scottie’s Legacy, Almanzor (Wootton Bassett), standing at Cambridge Stud, has been flavour of the month for Te Akau, after the NZ Cup week double by Mehzebeen in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy 2600m and Group 3 New Zealand Cup over 3200m. 

Scottie's Legacy is born on the same Almanzor/Zabeel cross and having the leading New Zealand sire of stakes' winners, Zabeel (Sir Tristram), is a major influence in the pedigrees of so many great staying thoroughbreds.

Her grand-dam Kay’s Awake was an impressive winner during her career of six wins, at the time regarded as one of the best race mares over the past decade in New Zealand, placing twice behind multiple Group One winners Darci Brahma (Danehill) and Seachange (Cape Cross). 

Kay’s Awake also proved herself at stud, leaving six individual winners of 17 races, including recent Australian stakes' winner Rise At Dawn (Almanzor). 

“It’s a family we’ve always really liked and already had success with,” Ellis said.

“The mares in the family have left really nice foals and although the ground wasn’t particularly to her liking, Scottie’s Legacy still showed a fair bit of class in winning.”

Scottie’s Legacy has a bloodline cross through her sire-lines to Champion Sire Nureyev (Northern Dancer), a racehorse with immense turn of foot, Champion French 3YO, and sire of more than 20 champions.

Scottie’s Legacy was strapped by Hailey Morton. 

Photo - Scottie's Legacy as a yearling, Karaka 2022