Leah Gavranich grateful for every moment in her racing journey

Leah Gavranich is a self confessed "hermit" who prefers to spend her time at home or around the stables but it wasn't so long ago that she was an important figure in one of Australian racing's greatest global missions.

Gavranich, now a co-trainer alongside Scone's Paul Messara, was a travelling foreperson back in 2011 when her then boss Messara received a sprinting mare edging close to racing retirement.

The mare was Ortensia and the supremely talented daughter of Testa Rossa was just about to alter the course of Gavranich's career.

In an amazing 12 months, Ortensia went on to complete one of the most amazing campaigns of an Australian sprinter in history with a treble of Group 1 wins across three different continents.

And Gavranich was with her every step of the way.

Ortensia launched an unforgettable overseas mission with a win in the Winterbottom Stakes in Perth in November 2011 before conquering the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in the UAE the following March and Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August.

"I was lucky enough to be able to travel with her around the world," Gavranich recalls.

"As soon as we knew we were going to travel her, I started riding her because I was travelling foreman at the time.

"I rode her and did everything with her.

"We travelled to Melbourne, then across to Perth, then over to Dubai.

"Because she won the Group 1 in Dubai, she got the invite to England so I ended up spending seven months overseas in all with her which was great."

Gavranich's own journey with the Messara's dates back to February 18, 2008.

That's when the talented horsewoman made the move over to the east coast after growing up in Western Australia's Kimberley region and spending time working in Perth.

"I started riding work in Perth and then wanted to move east for bigger and better things," Gavranich said.

"I wanted to go to the stable that was on the up and a place where I could really get my roots in and grow.

"I didn't want to go to a stable where you are just another number and not getting too far.

"As a country girl at heart, the job came up over here and the training centre was probably a few years in (it's infancy).

"I came over as a work rider and the rest is history."

Gavranich has now been with Messara and his Arrowfield Stud training operation for over 15 years, progressing from trackwork rider to foreperson to travelling foreperson and then assistant trainer.

But this season their working relationship went to a new level when Messara invited Gavranich to be his co-trainer from the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign.

"It was not something I feel that Paul needed to do in asking me to go into partnership," Gavranich said.

"I still ride work and I still absolutely love riding horses, that's my passion and my drive first and foremost.

"I never had the dream to have trainer by my name. I get so much satisfaction out of my job on a daily basis because you see the education and the growth in horses.

"It's so satisfying and yes, coming into the role is obviously a huge step for my career but at the same time it feels a little undeserved in a way, so it's a strange feeling but I'm very grateful."

A race-to-race double for @ZacLloydx who pilots Genzano home in the Spring Stakes at @newcastleraces_! @Paulmessara @LGavranich pic.twitter.com/3f4pjfjSCn

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 18, 2023

Messara and Gavranich have had an amazing start to their first season together with 16 winners from 41 starters at an amazing strike rate of 39 per cent.

They combined for their first stakes winner as a partnership last month and it fittingly came via a granddaughter of the former sprinter star Ortensia.

Ortensia only had two foals before sadly passing but one of them was the dam (Infiorata) of filly Genzano, which won the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) at Newcastle last month.

The stable have now sent Genzano for a spell but the future is bright.

"She will only have a little let up and we will try to hit the back end of the autumn with her and maybe the back end of the winter," Gavranich said.

"We will see how she progresses but she still needs to learn how to settle in her races because she can still be a bit too aggressive.

"I think the best thing about her, if you watch her last three wins, she actually hits the front before they have to go for the stick."

This Saturday at Rosehill Gardens, the stable will unleash a trio of well-bred geldings with Akasawa, The Hungarian and Rematch all set to line up in the TAB Country Classic (2000m).

Akasawa is the $3.70 favourite for the country feature after running competitively in harder grade in his first two starts this preparation.

He ran a creditable seventh in The Kosciuszko first-up from a spell and was 11th in the Big Dance last start.

"He's a horse that we've been dying to get out to 2000m," Gavranich said.

"We think the further he goes, the better he gets.

"From the barrier three, even with the 62kg, Aaron (Bullock) is going to give him a lovely run in transit.

"You should see the real horse on Saturday."

All three runners were nominated for the Armidale Cup on Saturday but the stable decided against accepting in the Big Dance Qualifier.

They are happy to run Rematch despite his testing draw which will see him jump from barrier 19 but were wary of more rain striking the Rosehill track.

"There is obviously a bit of pace in the race and ideally you would ride him conservatively," Gavranich said.

"However, if he jumps like he did the other day for Nash (Rawiller) he might be able to slot in somewhere.

"We did have the option of the Armidale Cup which is a Big Dance (qualifier) but it can be a tricky track and it's a heavy track at the moment.

"He is deep in his prep and I think he is the sort of horse that could endure a tough run."

Rematch is an $8.50 chance while The Hungarian is the $31 outsider of the stable's trio.

A winner of five of his 11 starts. Gavranich is confident he can run above those odds.

"This was the target race for The Hungarian," she said.

"The other two were a bit of an afterthought.

"We couldn't have left him a month between runs going from his 1900m win at Newcastle so ran him again however he is not really a two weeks between runs horse so we elected to go back to the mile the other Saturday.

"We will look for him to bounce back up to the 2000m and we couldn't be happier with him."