Lucarno

Lucarno (foaled February 10, 2004) is a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the St Leger in 2007.

Background

Lucarno is a big, powerful bay horse, standing 16.3 hands high, bred in Pennsylvania by his owner George W. Strawbridge, Jr. He was sired by Dynaformer whose other offspring includes Barbaro and McDynamo.

The colt was sent to race in Europe where he was trained by John Gosden. He was ridden in most of his races by Jimmy Fortune.

Racing career

2007: three-year-old season

Unraced as a two-year-old, Lucarno made his racecourse debut in a maiden race at Newbury Racecourse in April in which he started a 50/1 outsider and finished second of the sixteen runners behind Diamond Tycoon. He then made rapid progress, winning a maiden over a mile at Kempton Park by seven lengths and the Listed Fairway Stakes over ten furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse in May.

In June, Lucarno started a 16/1 outsider for the Epsom Derby and finished fourth of the seventeen runners behind Authorized, Eagle Mountain and Aqaleem. Later that month he started favourite for the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot but was beaten into second place by the Mark Johnston-trained Boscobel. In July, the colt was matched against older horses for the first time in the Princess of Wales's Stakes and finished fourth behind the four-year-old Papal Bull. In August Lucarno contested the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York Racecourse and started 7/2 second favourite in a field which included Boscobel and four runner from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle stable, headed by the Gordon Stakes winner Yellowstone and the Queen's Vase winner Mahler. Lucarno raced on the outside, but was among the leaders throughout the race before taking the lead approaching the final furlong and winning by a lengths from Yellowstone.