Avantage Hunts Down Grp 1 No.9

Raceform's Richard Edmunds reports:

A week later than planned and at a different venue, the stage is set again for Avantage and Levante's eagerly anticipated match-up in the Gr. 1 Fiber Fresh New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes at Te Rapa.

The two Matamata mares have been among the highest-profile horses in New Zealand in recent seasons - Avantage with eight outstanding Group One victories over distances ranging from 1200 to 2000 metres, and Levante with freakish finishes from near-hopeless positions to win seven of her 10 starts.

Avantage has come out on top in both of the pair's previous meetings, starting with a scintillating sprint victory in the Gr. 1 Sistema Railway over 1200 metres at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. She beat defending Railway champion Julius by a neck that day, with Levante charging home from second-last to finish another three-quarters of a length away in third.

Their next match-up was billed as the clash of the season in the Gr. 1 BCD Group Sprint at Te Rapa in February, but Levante blew the start and her trademark late sprint could only carry her into fifth as Avantage dashed to another brilliant victory.

Round three of their rivalry was set to be at Te Aroha last Saturday in the Breeders' Stakes, but the meeting was abandoned when Extortion - ridden by Levante's jockey Sam Collett - slipped and fell soon after passing the finish line in the third race on the programme.

While their 1600-metre showdown will take place seven days late, and at Te Rapa instead of under the mountain at Te Aroha, the connections of both mares reported to RaceForm this week that they are at the peak of their powers.

“The one-week delay hasn't made much of a difference for Avantage at all,” said Jamie Richards, whose tally for this season sat at 142 wins on Tuesday afternoon - one short of the all-time New Zealand record of 143, set by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in 2017-18.

“She's a pretty straightforward sort of a mare who takes things in her stride. She did some nice work here this morning, and I'm very happy with how she's looking and where she's at as we head into the race at Te Rapa this weekend.

“She's had a couple of good wins at Te Rapa before (two wins from three starts, including this season's Gr. 1 BCD Group Sprint and Gr. 2 Foxbridge Plate), so having the race moved there is no issue as far as she's concerned. The weather forecast is looking okay at this stage, so it all seems to be set up nicely for a good race. We're looking forward to it.”

Avantage was set to be ridden by Opie Bosson in the Breeders' Stakes at Te Aroha last Saturday, but he will be at Randwick this weekend to ride stablemate Amarelinha in the Gr. 1 Australian Oaks.

The mount on Avantage will instead be taken by runaway premiership leader Danielle Johnson, whose nine previous rides on the Fastnet Rock mare have produced five wins and three Group One placings. She has guided her to victory in the Gr. 1 Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes, WFA Classic and Telegraph, Gr. 2 Foxbridge Plate and Gr. 3 Gold Trail Stakes.

“Danielle knows the mare and gets on really well with her, and they've had some great success together,” Richards said.

In the Levante corner, Ken and Bev Kelso believe the postponement of the Breeders' Stakes could be a blessing in disguise for their Proisir mare.

“Obviously it was a shame what happened last Saturday, but it might end up actually playing into our favour a little bit,” Ken Kelso said.

“When I went out and walked on that Te Aroha track on Saturday afternoon, it felt like a slow 8 or slow 9 to me. I don't know how well she would have coped with that sort of ground.

“So we'll head to Te Rapa this weekend instead, where hopefully it'll be a bit better. The forecast is more promising this time around, and Te Rapa never gets as testing as some other tracks anyway, so in hindsight it could actually suit us better.

“Having to wait an extra week hasn't affected her at all. She worked nicely this morning on the course proper at Matamata - it was a really good hitout for her, and now it's all systems go for Saturday.”

While Avantage and Levante are the headline acts, the chances don't end there in Saturday's fillies and mares' feature.

Coventina Bay has been a brilliant winner of eight of her 13 starts, including this season's Gr. 3 J Swap Sprint and Cuddle Stakes. The Taranaki mare has scored two previous wins at Te Rapa, including the J Swap Sprint, and has also been Listed-placed at the course.

Up-and-comer Siracusa, a last-start placegetter in the Gr. 2 Japan Trophy at Tauranga, had to be scratched last Saturday because of a wasp sting. It was a devastating blow for trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, but the postponement has thrown them a lifeline.

“I think we found out there is definitely a racing god,” Ritchie told NZ Racing Desk.

“We were just cursing our luck that such a small thing could take a Group One opportunity away like that. We felt she was a big chance to get a piece of it. Her build-up had been spot-on, and we followed the usual routine on race morning by putting her out in her paddock before it was time to head to the track.

“When we went to collect her, her mouth was badly swollen by a sting of some sort, probably a wasp. She is a mare with very sensitive skin, so it was pretty bad and there was no way we could get a bit in her mouth.

“The swelling has come right down and she should be good to take her place this Saturday. We know it will be a red-hot field, but we still think she is a good chance in it.”