A minor leg issue has forced Levante out of Saturday’s Gr.1 Fiber Fresh New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa.

The multiple Group One winner had thrilled trainers Ken and Bev Kelso with her runner-up finish in a lead-up trial at Rotorua last weekend before they had to put her aside.

“She’s fine, she’s just got a bit of a niggle which will be of no consequence. It’s just bad timing and we said all along that we would have to be 100 percent happy for us to run her,” Ken Kelso said.

Levante will head to the paddock and return later in the year with the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) a likely Melbourne carnival target.

“Her trial was great, but she’s got a bit of filling in her leg. She will have a nice break now and come back for the spring,” Kelso said.

The Breeders’ Stakes would have been a highly attractive target for Levante, even more so given entries for the weight-for-age feature are disappointingly scarce.

“I said to the owners, don’t look at the nominations as there’s only six of them,” Kelso said.