Living Legend produced a valiant performance as he rallied strongly to defeat hot-favourite Tyrrhenian Sea in the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic, the final race of All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Newcastle on Friday.
The six-year-old, trained by Charlie & Mark Johnston, had looked a potential Classic hope at the start of his three-year-old campaign before being forced off the track for more than two years with a tendon injury.
Living Legend wins the Betway Easter Classic (Pic- Grossick Photography)
After being nursed back to health, Living Legend had already enjoyed an excellent All-Weather campaign and lined up at Newcastle on the back of a career-best win in the Listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton Park in March.
Joe Fanning sent 7/1 chance Living Legend into a half-length lead over United Front, with 10/11F Tyrrhenian Sea disputing third alongside French raider Charlesquint.
Living Legend tried to kick for home entering the final quarter-mile but looked as though he would have to settle for second as Tyrrhenian Sea loomed up on the far rail to take up the running over a furlong out.
However, Living Legend would not be denied and battled back gamely to regain the advantage close home for a half-length success. Charlesquint took third, with Felix, United Front and Al Zaraqaan completing the order in the 10-furlong culmination of the All-Weather Middle Distance Championships.
Mark Johnston, who won the race in 2019 with subsequent G1 winner Matterhorn, said: “We always thought Living Legend was a very good horse as a three-year-old, but he bowed a tendon. Barbara and Alick [Richmond, owners] gave him to us, to probably be retired at the time. We gave him a whole two years off, he came back racing in our name, and when we saw it looked like he might stay sound – he actually won a race for us – we gave him back to them.
“I don’t know what’s next – we’ll take it one race at a time. We have no specific plan for him. I wouldn’t say this was an afterthought, we always had it in the back of our minds, and he won so well last time.
“I notice it says in the racecard that he didn’t need to improve to win last time but we didn’t agree with that at all – we thought the horse was still very much on an upward curve, and he’s run the race of his life today.”
Of his jockey, Johnston said: “What’s so good about Joe is that he makes his own pace; he doesn’t look at what other people are doing. He gets headed there, doesn’t give up and back he comes.”
Fanning said: “Living Legend is a good, tough horse. We have always liked him. He had that injury early in his career and was down in the paddock for a long time, but he’s come back better than ever.
“I just said to Mark, ‘you wouldn’t know what trip he wants, really, because he doesn’t do a stroke in front’, but once the other horse came by me he rallied. He’s a good old horse.”
Betway Easter Classic
1 Living Legend (Barbara & Alick Richmond) Charlie & Mark Johnston 6-9-05 Joe Fanning 7/1
2 Tyrrhenian Sea (Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd) Roger Varian 4-9-05 Andrea Atzeni 10/11F
3 Charlesquint (Mme Marie-Joelle Goetschy) Yann Barberot FR 5-9-05 Gregory Benoist 7/1
6 ran
Charlie & Mark Johnston – 1st Finals Day winner as a training partnership
*3rd Finals Day winner for Mark Johnston
Joe Fanning – 3rd Finals Day winner
