Leica Guv (foaled 22 August 1998) is a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who in a brilliant three-year-old season won the

New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day o ...

in 2001. Unfortunately he was never able to match the ability he showed in 2001 in the remainder of his career. Leica Guv won all of his first six starts on right-handed tracks, and overcame his dislike of running the other way around to run a courageous third to Master Belt in the

New Zealand 2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas is a Group One set-weight Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 1600 metres at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch New Zealand cup week The New Zealand 2000 Guineas is hel ...

. After winning his first two races, including the Northland Breeders Stakes at Ruakaka, his problem with left-handed tracks first made itself obvious with his fifth placing as favourite in the Wanganui Guineas, followed by fourth in the

Hawke's Bay Guineas The Hawke's Bay Guineas is a major Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand for three-year-old horses. In 2003 the stake was boosted to $100,000 and the race was moved to the first Saturday in October, meaning that it is run on the same day as the S ...

. He then made up for those disappointments running his preferred way around with an impressive win in the

Great Northern Guineas Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

at Ellerslie before heading south for the 2000 Guineas, which was probably one of his best performances. Back right-handed again, he won three races in a row including the Avondale Guineas and the Derby, the latter of which was a spectacular performance in which he led all the way and was never threatened in cruising away to a three-length victory. Following the Derby he ran with some credit in Sydney, finishing fourth in the

Canterbury Guineas The Randwick Guineas is an Australian Turf Club Group One Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March as a part of the Sydney Autumn Carnival ...

, but after that he was unable to recreate anything like his best form, with the exception of a dead-heat for first with Penny Gem in the Group 2

Counties Cup A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of 2003.

References

1998 racehorse births Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in New Zealand Thoroughbred family 8-k {{racehorse-stub

See also

References