Advantage Te Rapa

 

NZ Herald's Mick Guerin reports:

 

The team behind Avantage are rolling the dice on a return to racing in New Zealand on Saturday rather than a last-minute trip to Australia to kick off her season.

The multiple Group 1-winning mare has been nominated for the $110,000 Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa where she will try to defend her title but also two races at Caulfield in Melbourne.

Trainer Jamie Richards said yesterday Te Rapa has been the winner in that battle.

"We just wanted to keep our options open by nominating for both meetings in case there were clear indications racing wouldn't go ahead here," said Richards.

"But we have decided to stay here and hope we get the all-clear for racing on Friday and she can kick off at Te Rapa the next day.

"Safely through that, she can head to Hastings and probably Australia later in the spring all going well."

Richards says Avantage's cranky disposition was one reason he was keen to keep her closer to home to start her season rather than changing too much in her life.

He has been lucky to have sent key staff to Australia before the latest lockdown so he has his father Paul looking after Te Akau's Sydney team and regular travelling foreperson Ashley Hanley in charge of the Cambridge Stud-owned pair of Probabeel and Kahma Lass in Melbourne.

"That was more good luck than good planning but it really helps having such skilled people there."

While Avantage won't head to Melbourne yet, Probabeel is there and will carry 60kg when she resumes in the A$200,000 Cockram over 1200m, for which she is the $2.70 pre-draw favourite.

"It looks a perfect race for her because while she has 60kg, the minimum is 56kg, so she gets in well," suggested Richards.

That leaves Cambridge superstar Aegon as the only Kiwi-trained horse in the A$1 million Memsie on Saturday and he will fly to Melbourne with stablemate The Chosen One on Wednesday.

He is rated an $11 chance with the Australian TAB pre-draw.

Meanwhile, Entriviere is improving after a suspected stone bruise ruled her out of racing at Randwick last Saturday and she could trial next week before making her seasonal debut in two weeks.

Last season's leading two-year-old Sword Of State is entered for a red-hot version of the San Domenico on Saturday, with the race moved from Rosehill to Kembla Grange because of Covid concerns, but Richards is on weather watch with the valuable colt.

"It sounds like there could be a bit of rain heading that way and he doesn't really like that so we will accept then see how the track is looking."

Closer to home, Avantage will have the horse she had to grind past to win the Foxbridge last year in Tavi Mac as her main danger should the Te Rapa meeting go ahead on Saturday in Hamilton.

Richards has also piled many of his exciting three-year-olds into the reprogrammed Cambridge Stud Breeders Stakes on Saturday after the Taupo meeting that was to be held on Wednesday was cancelled.

"We will accept with most of them and see what other races are around but it is looking a very strong three-year-old race, with Imperatriz probably the pick of ours pre-draw."

Meanwhile, Ellerslie bosses are hopeful of holding the Pakuranga Hunt meeting on Sunday week and will do so if Auckland returns to level 3 by then.

But if it doesn't, the major jumps meeting will be moved to Te Aroha, providing that region is at Covid alert level 3 or better.

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