Prince Levi aims high

By Glenn Davis

At this time of the year, the Group 1 Queensland Derby is still a long way off and it will see the annual invasion from big name stables from the south and New Zealand.

But if you haven’t got a ticket, you can’t win the prize.

That’s Toowoomba trainer Will Kropp’s thinking as he ponders aiming talented three-year-old Prince Levi for the Group 1 feature over 2400m at Eagle Farm in June.

Kropp, 23, is in his infancy as a trainer, having only been licenced since the 2019-20 season.

But he has the right pedigree to be a success, as his father, Matt Kropp, has been a popular trainer on Queensland’s Darling Downs - first at Dalby and now Toowoomba.

Matt has been training for nearly two decades after previously working as a stock and station agent for Elders in places like Rolleston and Rockhampton in Central Queensland as well as Dalby.

Before taking out his trainers’ licence, Matt spent 12 months working in Sydney for Crown Lodge under Vic Thompson and Bill Mitchell as well as the late Des Burns, when he trained at Ipswich.

That knowledge has been passed on to Will who has always had an interest in racing.

“I’ve always had a passion for racing and I bred a few when I was only 10,” Will said.

“Mum and Dad bought me a weanling at the sales and she went on to break the track record at Tara one year.

“I used to ride trackwork a lot before school, but I would fall asleep by lunch time.”

Will later began working at the stables for his father and eventually became his stable foreman before deciding to take the plunge and branch out on his own to train.

While training on his own, he continued to help his father and was his regular trackwork rider before the wear and tear on his body forced him to quit the saddle.

“I used to ride a lot of trackwork for Dad and myself, but I gave it away earlier this year as I’m too big and heavy now and it was too painful on my back,” Will said.

“I try to focus more on the training side of things now as I’m six foot five and nearly 100kg.”

The Prince Levi story began when Kropp travelled to Baramul Stud in NSW to buy two mares who were in foal.

“We bought his mother, Miss Switzerland, in foal to Casino Prince for $2,000 off Baramul Stud and then got the mare in foal again and had her QTIS registered,” Will said.

“It was a fairly successful trip as we bought two mares the same year and both were in foal.”

Will was excited when Prince Levi, who is owned by his mother Kate, hit the ground.

“He was a nice looking foal but he wasn’t very big,” hesaid.

Prince Levi never started as a two-year-old and had his first start in October last year.

“There was no rush to get him to the races as he was still growing when he was two,” Will said.

“There was plenty of racing for him as a three-year-old if you don’t punish them too early.

“He was a bit fizzy early days but he’s relaxing into his races now.”

Prince Levi had only one barrier trial at Gatton before he made his race debut, finishing sixth as a $71 chance behind Barry Lockwood’s highly promising Give Me Space in a 1200m Maiden at Eagle Farm.

“He only had a trial when he ran second at Gatton when “Bubba” Tilley rode him and he got off and said he had a good future but wanted further,” Will said.

“We weren’t expecting him to win his first start but he did a good job and was beaten by a very good horse in Give Me Space.

“It was a nice race to kick off and it gave him some good experience.”

Prince Levi stepped up to 1710m for his second appearance at Ipswich in November last year, when he just failed to peg back winner Metcalfe from the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald stable.

“We weren’t confident but were hopeful he’d run a nice race and he did that,” Will said.

“He flashed home from well back.

“We were more confident at his next start at Gatton when he won that day but after seeing him with a couple of horses behind him on the turn at Gatton, we weren’t as confident.

“Gatton has been a leader’s track and he only had a few behind him when Bubba gave him a few around the rump and he strode past them all rather arrogantly.”

Kropp then took Prince Levi back to the city for a 1600m three-year-old race at Doomben in mid-February when he was edged by the Bevan Laming-trained Savour The Dream.

“I was very happy with his run behind Bevan’s horse, Savour The Dream, and he was very unlucky not to get the job done,” Will said.

“It took a while for him to get out and while Laming’s horse was very good the way he won but he did have a lovely run.”

The Laming stable have a big opinion of Savour The Dream, who was an $180,000 buy at the New Zealand Karaka sales.

Savour The Dream was sent south following his narrow win over Prince Levi but failed in the Group 1 Australian Derby at Flemington on March 1.

Prince Levi has gone on to claim his first city win, scoring in a Benchmark 65 Handicap for three-year-olds at Doomben in late February.

He has since raced twice, finishing outside the money at both Eagle Farm and Doomben, as Kropp eyes off a shot at the Queensland Racing Carnival.

“Provided he continues to race well, he’ll take the traditional route to the Queensland Derby via the Vo Rogue and Rough Habit Plate,” Will said.

Kropp may be dreaming big with Prince Levi but dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.