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Hall of Famer Les Bridge firmly believes that Classique Legend, a remarkable grey sprinter, never had the opportunity to showcase his full potential in racing.
According to reports, Classique Legend emerged as the champion of The Everest in 2020 and was once regarded as the top sprinter in the world. However, it has been confirmed that the 8YO gelding has run his final race, as recent scans revealed worrying signs regarding his problematic tendon injury. The decision to retire him was made by Bridge after careful consideration of his condition.
"Classique Legend was never lame and only last Thursday he worked as well as he ever has,'' Bridge said.
"But we weren't happy with the scan results on his tendon the other day and the decision was made to retire the horse. I don't want to take any risks with him, he's been so good to us.
"I'd have Classique Legend up there with Sir Dapper as the best horses I've trained and even though he won The Everest, I don't think we saw the best of him.
"He got stronger as he gold older so you can only imagine what he could have done if he was injury-free.''
Classique Legend: A Short But Stellar Career
Classique Legend had a brief but impressive career, winning six races including The Everest and The Shorts in just 15 starts. With earnings of A$9,385,000, the grey stallion ranks 10th among the country's all-time list of prizemoney winners. Kerrin McEvoy, who rode Classique Legend to victory, has announced that the horse will now retire to his Central Coast property.
"We will give him a nice home, my children are excited to have him on the property as he has such a gentle nature about him,'' McEvoy said.
"When he's settled we might even put him over a few logs, keep him stimulated, but he's going to have a good life.''
"I was just watching the horse's wins on replay and on his day he was a brilliant racehorse,'' McEvoy said.
"But I got a big thrill out of winning The Everest on Classique Legend for Les. He has been training at the top level for six decades and to win that race for him was an unforgettable moment.''
Celestial Legend, a 3YO racehorse owned by Bon Ho of Classique Legend fame, has made a big impact in its limited racing career so far. It finished second to Kandinsky Abstract at Canterbury and won a race at Rosehill on a Saturday in May. Despite trainer David Bridge having a high opinion of the horse, it will have a light spring due to a recent training setback. Celestial Legend is a grey colt sired by Dundeel.
"The colt had a high white blood cell count for a few days there about a fortnight ago,'' Bridge said.
"We have got his blood back to normal now but it meant he had to have an easy week or so.
"I'm in no hurry with him, if all goes well we might be able to trial him in three weeks or so and then we could look at possibly giving him a race or two later in the spring.
"But he's still all ‘legs' and needs time. You will see a very good horse next year.''