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Aleisha Legg is a staple part of the Forsman Racing set-up. In recent years, Aleisha has worked with horses such as Ethereal Star, the two-year-old listed winner, and The Chosen One, the Group One winner. Aleisha spoke with Behind the Stable Doors about her role in the industry and some of the horses she worked with.
Her mother, who worked at White Robe Lodge, inspired Aleisha's interest in hoses. Aleisha began working in a stud at age 14, then moved to the racing side at 15 and began riding trackwork. Currently, she works for Forsman Racing, where her daily routine begins at 3:15 am, arriving at 4 am to begin riding at 4:30 am. Aleisha rides 8-12 horses a day and then rides for Jon Miller and Kiltannon until roughly 11:30 a.m. Then depending on the week, she will attend race day and trials.
Aleisha highlighted the fantastic bunch of horses and staff at Forsman Racing and it became hard to narrow down a favourite. She has a soft spot for fillies and a few of her favourites includes Leonaroar, Aprilia, Megatrendz, Ethereal Star and Riproar. However, her all-time favourite is The Chosen One. He was a horse that was super tough and he enjoyed his own space being a stallion didn’t enjoy getting fussed over as much. Making him more special – Aleisha rode and strapped The Chosen One dam, The Glitzy One towards the end of her career. Ethereal Star is very loving around the stable and enjoys the affection but at the races, she is very focused on her job and can be a handful. Leonaroar is a very easy horse to have around she is very loved by the staff and loves attention. Her stable name is Princess!
Aleisha has previously travelled horses overseas including The Chosen One. Including it in her proudest moments – The Chosen One ran 3rd in the Caufield Cup and 4th in the Melbourne Cup in 2020. Because of covid, Aleisha was there by herself and trainers were unable to fly over from New Zealand and see the horses and attend races, this made Aleisha even more proud of what they achieved. He also collected the Group One Thorndon Mile in 2022.
A common theme in the industry is the lack of staff which comes down to the early starts and long hours. This is something Aleisha would like to see improve as the lack of staff coming through puts extra pressure on the current staff. However, she credits the NZ Equine Academy for doing an amazing job in promoting the industry and trying to attract young people to come work in the industry.
Aleisha is an extremely talented horsewoman and dedicated participant in the industry who has worked tirelessly and relentlessly and has helped achieve some great results with horses. The hours our staff work can be extremely long and demanding but without people like Aleisha, the horses don’t get as looked after as well as they do. Horses like The Chosen One are credited to Aleisha and her dedication. The industry is very lucky to have people like Aleisha.
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