Written by Georgie Dennis
There are only five confirmed runners so far for this year’s $15 million The Everest and one of them is popular gelding Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt), who will race in the slot of his owner Bon Ho.
The lightly-raced 5-year-old officially kicks off his second tilt at Australia’s richest race in the G2 The Shorts on Saturday and Carmel Size, Racing Manager for Ho, thinks he is in terrific order ahead of the race.
“He’s probably got a ton of improvement to come, but he’s just in cruise mode,” Size told TDN AusNZ.
“He’s such a casual horse that it’s hard to get a guide on him, but he galloped with Fituese and it came out and won last Saturday. We don’t often work him with another horse but we did it again on Tuesday and we were happy with that gallop.
“He’s such a casual horse that it’s hard to get a guide on him, but he galloped with Fituese and it came out and won last Saturday." - Carmel Size
“The ATC was kind enough to give us the Kensington track to work on which is an absolute privilege.
“His trial at Newcastle was really good and he just does everything so easy that he bulks up a little bit but that really set him into race mode. And I certainly know he’s into race mode because he gets a little bit stroppy. He goes from kids pony mode to ‘you just better watch where you touch me, Mum’ mode.”
Twice since last year’s Everest Classique Legend has been placed in quarantine to be transferred to Hong Kong and both times the plan has been shelved.
Size said that makes for an unorthodox lead up to a race like The Everest compared to the rest of the field, but forcing the gelding to have seven months off the track may have been a blessing in disguise.
“He was on a plane to go to Hong Kong twice and we felt like we had to break him out of quarantine,” Size said. “He came to us on March 25 and he has been with us the entire time.
“It’s very unusual for a horse to be in a stable for that amount of time. So that’s very different in itself and we’ve had to come up with little unique ways to keep him interested but he’s happy and he loves the attention.
“He’s not a horse that you can physically spoil but we’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeve that keep him entertained and he keeps us entertained.”
Classique Legend
Classique Legend’s last race before the quarantine saga was in the $7.5 million Golden Eagle where he finished down the field. His only other outing since then was in the Listed Bob Charley S. at Randwick in June which he won, and Size said he could’ve had a break after that race but they opted to keep him in work.
“We had the opportunity to give him a break after the Bob Charley,” she said. “There was a three-week window but what we worried about was if the weather came and he got wet and got a cold.
“We couldn’t control that when he was away from us so when he was with us, we knew exactly what was happening with him. He worked every day, trot and cantered every day, he just loves it.”
Been there
As The Everest slowly creeps closer, Size said there aren’t many nerves from within the Classique Legend camp. After he finished sixth in the race last year, she said they feel like they’ve been there and done it and can just enjoy the occasion of this year’s event.
“He was very, very unlucky in last year’s race,” Size said. “We’re so much more relaxed going into this year because all the nerves were last year.
“We’re a really small stable and it was such a big event, but we’ve been there and done it and know what it feels like and we’re just getting on with business this year. It’s actually just a pleasure to be a part of it.”
Carmel Size and Les Bridge
Size also said she believes Classique Legend is a much better horse now than what he was 12 months ago and she is certain he can improve on his sixth-place finish.
“He’s a different horse this year,” she said. “Whatever interview we did last year we always said he was a year off it.
“He’s still lightly raced but he was very lightly raced then, it was his seventh career start, he’d never been away from Randwick or Rosehill and he wasn’t really seasoned.
“Only time will tell but from what I see every day, he’s gone up a rug size, he’s got a massive girth on him and a massive chest but he’s still the same cool dude.”
