Lekvarte contributed to a successful day for Reliable Man when she resumed in style at Newcastle.
The Westbury Stud-based stallion had earlier been represented by Tauranga winners Tianzi and She’s So Reliable at Tauranga while Nest Egg finished a gallant runner-up in the G3 New Zealand Cup.
Lekvarte was making her first appearance for four months when she proved superior to her Benchmark 78 rivals over 1400 metres.
It was a fifth victory on Saturday for Lekvarte who had finished a respectable sixth in the Listed Tatts Gold Crow at Eagle Farm to end her previous campaign.
Trainer Joseph Pride had expected a bold first-up showing from Lekvarte off the back of two lead-up trials and he wasn’t disappointed.
“I thought she would run very well, I liked the way she had trialled,” he said.
“She had a spell in Queensland and I think that really served her well.”
Lekvarte was partnered by Josh Parr and they settled fourth last off the fence before edging closer 600 metres from home and unleashed powerfully in the run home for her fifth career victory.
The grey was bred by Stewart Hume and was a $210,000 purchase out of Westbury’s 2020 Karaka draft by BK Racing & Breeding and Andrew Williams Bloodstock.
She is a daughter of the Encosta De Lago mare Plumm and is a half-sister to the multiple winner and stakes performer Total Power.
Their dam Madame Plume won on seven occasions and finished runner-up in the G1 South Australian Oaks.