Levin Classic
New Zealand | FEATURE RACE GUIDE
History
The Levin Classic is a Group 2 race run under set weights conditions for three year olds at Trentham race course conducted by the Wellington Racing Club.
The Levin Classic is run over 1400m. It was first run in 1981 and won by Altitude.
The Levin Classic was previously one of the early lead ins to the New Zealand Derby run a couple of months later.
Previously known as the Bayer Classic, it had been run at Levin racecourse until 1990 and then at Otaki until 2012 when moved to Wellington.
Initially it was run in later November but with the Guineas races just before that, it was moved to the Wellington carnival in January to provide some space between the feature classic races. However it was changed again to be run on Oaks day in March then back again to January from 2024. It was downgraded in 2025 to Group 2 and run at 1400m.
Some former grand stayers like Veandercross and Eagle Eye won in the 90s but the most famous winner has to be Cox Plate and Derby hero Bonecrusher with Jimmy Cassidy in the saddle.
On the breeding side O'Reilly would go on to become a top sire of winners on both sides of the Tasman and 1993 winner Al Akbar's claim to fame is being the damsire of the champ Winx.
Fillies hadn't won the race that often but from 2020 to 2024 they won it five times on the trot.
The Levin Classic was worth NZ$400,000 in 2025.
Notable winners of the Levin Classic include Savaglee (2025), Imperatriz (2022), Bonham (2021), Madison County (2019), Wahid (2005), Russian Pearl (2003), Tit For Taat (2000), O'Reilly (1996), Al Akbar (1993), Nimue (1992), Veandercross (1991), Eagle Eye (1990), Krona (1988) and Bonecrusher (1985).
The 2025 Levin Classic was won by Savaglee from Kitty Flash and Tardelli.
Previous Levin Classic Winners
| Date | Horse | Jockey | WT | Trainer | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
SAVAGLEE
(NZ)
3C SAVABEEL (AUS) - GLEE (NZ) O'REILLY (NZ) |
S C SPRATT | 57.0 | PAM GERARD | 7 |
|
|
QUINTESSA
(NZ)
3F SHAMUS AWARD (AUS) - CHAQUINTA (NZ) HIGH CHAPARRAL (IRE) |
O P BOSSON | 55.0 | MARK WALKER & SAM BERGERSON | 5 |
|
|
ROMANCING THE MOON
(NZ)
3F EL ROCA (AUS) - UNDERTHEMOONLIGHT (NZ) EL HERMANO (NZ) |
KOZZI ASANO | 55.0 | MARK WALKER | 10 |
|
|
IMPERATRIZ
(AUS)
3F I AM INVINCIBLE (AUS) - BERIMBAU (AUS) SHAMARDAL (USA) |
M MCNAB | 54.5 | JAMIE RICHARDS | 4 |
|
|
BONHAM
(AUS)
3F PER INCANTO (USA) - FORTUNE'S CHOICE (AUS) REDOUTE'S CHOICE (AUS) |
L J ALLPRESS | 54.5 | JOHNO BENNER & HOLLIE WYNYARD | 10 |
|
|
TRAVELLING LIGHT
(NZ)
3F EL ROCA (AUS) - CISSY BOWEN (NZ) COLOMBIA (NZ) |
SAMANTHA COLLETT | 54.5 | BEN FOOTE | 3 |
|
|
MADISON COUNTY
(NZ)
3G PINS (AUS) - RED DELICIOUS (NZ) RUSTINGTON (AUS) |
M CAMERON | 56.5 | MURRAY BAKER & ANDREW FORSMAN | 1 |
|
|
AGE OF FIRE
(AUS)
3C FASTNET ROCK (AUS) - DRAGON'S TAIL (AUS) GALILEO (IRE) |
O P BOSSON | 56.5 | STEPHEN AUTRIDGE | 2 |
|
|
DANCES WITH DRAGON
(NZ)
3G SAVABEEL (AUS) - AROUND THE CLOCK (AUS) GALILEO (IRE) |
O P BOSSON | 56.5 | STEPHEN AUTRIDGE | 1 |
|
|
DUKEDOM
(NZ)
3G BACHELOR DUKE (USA) - BIANCA BAY (AUS) BIANCONI (USA) |
L J ALLPRESS | 56.5 | STEVEN COLE | 11 |
|
|
SIMPLY INVINCIBLE
(NZ)
3G RIOS (NZ) - PLAYACTING (AUS) ROYAL ACADEMY (USA) |
M T COLEMAN | 56.5 | DANICA GUY | 9 |
|
|
RECITE
(NZ)
3F DARCI BRAHMA (NZ) - CHANT (NZ) TRADITIONALLY (USA) |
MARK DU PLESSIS | 54.5 | JOHN BARY | 10 |
|
|
SOUTHERN LORD
(AUS)
3G STRATUM (AUS) - ANGEL GIRL (AUS) RORY'S JESTER (AUS) |
KELLY MC CULLOCH | 56.5 | ALAN TAIT | 10 |
|
|
DISTILL
(NZ)
3G VOLKSRAAD (GB) - FAIRY TIPSY (NZ) CASUAL LIES (USA) |
R J HANNAM | 56.5 | R BERGERSON | 8 |
|
|
WE CAN SAY IT NOW
(AUS)
3F STARCRAFT (NZ) - WE CAN'T SAY THAT (NZ) GENEROUS (IRE) |
L G INNES | 54.5 | MURRAY & BJORN BAKER | 1 |
|
|
EILEEN DUBH
(NZ)
3F STORM CREEK (USA) - VINGTAINE (NZ) CENTAINE (AUS) |
J K RIDDELL | 55.0 | FRANCIS FINNEGAN | 7 |
|
|
ALTERED IMAGE
(NZ)
3G STRATEGIC IMAGE (AUS) - DENTED AMBITION (NZ) DANASINGA (AUS) |
M T COLEMAN | 56.0 | MIKE & PAUL MORONEY | 3 |
|
|
KEEPA CRUISIN
(NZ)
3F KEEPER (AUS) - JUST CRUISING (AUS) BROAD REACH (NZ) |
L G INNES | 54.5 | STEPHEN MCKEE | 1 |
|
|
POROTENE GEM
(NZ)
3F PINS (AUS) - RUBYFOO (USA) DANZIG (USA) |
DAVID WALKER | 54.5 | KEVIN GRAY | 1 |
|
|
WAHID
(NZ)
3G ALMUTAWAKEL (GB) - RORY'S HELEN (NZ) RORY'S JESTER (AUS) |
H S TINSLEY | 56.0 | A SHARROCK | 13 |
|
|
HAPPEE OWNER
(NZ)
3G TOWKAY (AUS) - MAKE UP (NZ) TAKE YOUR PARTNER (AUS) |
L G INNES | 55.5 | M BAKER | 5 |
|
|
RUSSIAN PEARL
(NZ)
3G SOVIET STAR (USA) - VELINDA (NZ) VELOSO (NZ) |
H S TINSLEY | 56.0 | BRUCE & STEPHEN MARSH | 12 |
|
|
BUNKER
(NZ)
3C SANDTRAP (USA) - PERFECT (NZ) STRAIGHT STRIKE (USA) |
O P BOSSON | 56.0 | STEPHEN & TREVOR MCK | 14 |
|
|
FINAL DESTINATION
(NZ)
3F O'REILLY (NZ) - LOGICAL LADY (NZ) SOUND REASON (CAN) |
G J GRYLLS | 53.5 | WAYNE & VANESSA HILL | 5 |
|
|
TIT FOR TAAT
(NZ)
3G FALTAAT (USA) - MISS KIWITEA (NZ) TRULY VAIN (AUS) |
H S TINSLEY | 56.0 | W HERBERT | 12 |
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