New Zealand Oaks (G1) winner Leica Lucy has been retired from racing following an unsuccessful return from fetlock surgery, bringing an end to a career that delivered six wins and more than NZ$1 million in prize money.
Bred by Taranaki couple Peter and Heather Crofskey, Leica Lucy is by Grangewilliam Stud stallion Derryn out of winning Sir Percy mare Dynamite Lucy, a half sister to group 2 performer Endowment and stakes performer Airlie House.
Initially trained by Robbie Patterson, Leica Lucy won six of seven starts during her 3-year-old campaign in 2024-25, headed by the New Zealand Oaks and the Lowland Stakes (G2), David & Karyn Ellis Fillies Classic (G2), Desert Gold Stakes (G3), and Eulogy Stakes (G3).
Following her Desert Gold victory, the Crofskeys sold a share in the filly to prominent Australian owner Ozzie Kheir. Transferred to Chris Waller, Leica Lucy finished fourth in the Australian Oaks (G1) before placing in the Toorak Handicap (G1) and finished runner-up to Pride Of Jenni in the Empire Rose Stakes (G1).
Four unplaced autumn runs were followed by surgery to remove bone chips from a fetlock, but two recent trials indicated the issue had not been successfully resolved.
"She wasn't striding out in her trials and I thought, 'Something is wrong here.' The operation that she had on her fetlock (to remove bone chips) didn't work," Heather Crofskey said.
Kheir and his fellow shareholders will retain Leica Lucy for breeding, while the Crofskeys have sold their interest.
