Avantage Back & Beautiful

As expected, Champion Two-Year-Old Avantage (3 f Fastnet Rock - Asavant, by Zabeel) resumed her three-year-old season with a win in the $70,000 Gold Trail Stakes (Gr. 3, 1200m) on Saturday 22 September at Hastings.

With such a title comes plenty of expectation and she certainly gave a fitting display. Drawn barrier one, with Danielle Johnson aboard, who rode her last time out when winning the Sires' Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) in March, Avantage was a stride slow before recovering to trail in fourth. On a genuine speed, she found the bridle at the 600m, angled clear on the point of the home turn and defiantly held of the challenge by Xpression (Showcasing) over the final 200m.

Scoring by a short head, the pair had 3 ¾ lengths over third placed Rocket Fuel (Smart Missile). On Good3 footing, Avantage ran the 1200m in 1:10.5 and paid $1.50 & $1.20 on the NZ TAB tote.

“It was a stunning win and it's very exciting,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis, who bought the filly as a yearling for $210,000 at the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling, from the Oaks Stud draft.  She has now won seven of her eight starts and $806,120 in prize money for the Te Akau Avantage Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).

“She was brilliantly trained by Jamie (Richards) because his aim for her in this campaign is the Guineas' at Riccarton. So, you don't want to have her too forward in condition now but you need to have given her enough work to win over 1200 metres and he's done that perfectly.

“Now a three-year-old and out of a Zabeel mare, she's looking for 1400m and 1600 metres which should be ideal for her. I didn't think she was $1.70 shot and the second horse had a win under her belt, but she's obviously a very good filly.

“It was a beautiful ride by Danielle. She's driven over to Matamata, from Cambridge, to ride Avantage in her work and I love seeing people that put the hard yards in get the results.

“We may run her in both Guineas races in November at Riccarton. She's such a tough filly, so why not?"

The sixth Te Akau Champion Two-Year-Old that Ellis has bought and Te Akau has prepared, he is loath to compare them but has high praise for the current champ.

“She certainly tries as hard as any of the other champion two-year-olds we've had,” Ellis said. “It's very difficult to compare horses in different years because so much depends on opposition, but given her pedigree and the way she won her races last season she certainly is very special and has a massive amount of class.

“She was a great buy for $210,000 and that's what Fastnet Rock stands at, so effectively I bought her for the service fee, and her dam Asavant, by Zabeel, was a very good filly.”

By champion Australian sire Fastnet Rock (Danehill), the dam of Avantage, Asavant (Zabeel), won the Warstep Stakes (Listed, 2000m) as a three-year-old at Riccarton, gaining a Group One placing when finishing third in the Darci Brahma International Stakes (2000m).

Ellis also mentioned the arrival in the stables of a half-sister to Avantage.

“Her breeders Willie and Karen Calder have also given us her half-sister (Asathought) by So You Think. We had dinner with them last week in Queenstown, and they asked me if Te Akau would like to train the filly, which is a huge thrill. They have a phenomenal record as breeders. They only have two mares their progeny both won a Group One race last season.

“Mason Stevens looks after Avantage and she's in Nicole Shalier's barn at Matamata,” Ellis said. They've all done a really good job, working hard through the winter and that's the reason we're getting these great results because the team has worked so hard. We've got to get it set up through June and July - tough months - to get the rewards we're getting now.”

Post race reports:

Trainer Jamie Richards said: “She had to tough it out. She's a champion filly that has come back in really good order. I talked up the second horse (Xpression) all week and think she's a pretty serious filly. They're two very promising horses and I look forward to them clashing again.

“She was probably half a stride slow and had to used a bit early, which told in the finish, first up, but she'll improve a lot with that. Her coat is not there yet and she will improve again.

“Good horses find a way to get to the line first, with their head in front, and that's what she does. She's a proper racehorse and we just love her at home.

“I'd like to give special thanks to Butch Castles who allowed us to gallop this filly here three weeks ago. It was an important part of her training regime that really brought her on and a critical part of her win here today.

“Staff at home has done a wonderful job with this filly. As I've said before, I'm only the name in the book and it's all the guys and girls that are there at 3.45 a.m. in the morning, giving the horses their breakfasts and checking their temperatures, making sure everything is alright from the day before, and we just cannot do it without them.

Rider Danielle Johnson said: “As soon as Sam Collett came outside me on Xpression, she's actually dug and found more. Full credit to her and it's obviously only her first up run so she's going to improve a lot from this. I always knew it was there (ability to lift). Her work on Tuesday was exceptional and obviously her Palmerston North win (Sires') was super, so she's got all the class there and we just need the right races for her which I'm sure the team will find.

“Jamie, having just gone out on his own, winning two Group Ones, a Group Two and a Group Three, in such a short time is a huge achievement. David Ellis, another wonderful filly bought by you and it's a credit to all the team behind the scenes."

Syndicate manager Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM: “Thanks to Hawkes Bay Racing and the Hawkes Bay Breeders for making this prestigious race possible. It's a time-honoured race and we're delighted at Te Akau to have brought this champion filly here for her first start in this campaign.

“She became the sixth Champion Two-Year-Old for Te Akau, all purchased by my husband, David Ellis, so the kudos goes to him and he does have a great eye for a filly.

“It's an extraordinary start for Jamie Richards, who took sole charge of Te Akau Racing this season. His strike rate is formidable. We have a wonderful team of staff at the farm and at the stables supporting Jamie and he's on fire. He's the hardest working person I've ever met, so all the success that comes his way is thoroughly well earned and deserved.

“Danielle rode this filly so well again today. She rode her to Group One glory at Manawatu, and congratulations to this amazing group of owners. Avantage was one of the last yearlings to sell from Karaka yearling sales, which proves last is not least, and they are avid supporters of both Te Akau and their filly.”

Avantage was strapped by Mason Stevens.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz