Te Akau Wins North & South - Xtravagant 'xtra' special

Te Akau NZ won two races today - the 2YO event in Hastings and the Listed NZB Warstep Stakes at Riccarton - and we almost won the Group 2 Championship Stakes at Ellerslie too - which would have been a win at all three New Zealand venues!

The first win came this morning at Hastings - and wow Xtravagant was 'xtra' special!

A brother to Mapperley Stud stallion He's Remarkable (Pentire), Xtravagant (2 c Pentire - Axiom, by Zabeel) turned his debut assignment into a procession when, getting away with a leisurely lead, he raced clear to win by seven and a quarter lengths in the Niagara's at Karaka Maiden 2YO 1400 metres on Saturday at Hastings.

“I rated this colt extremely highly from the moment I first saw him at Rich Hill Stud and I'm thrilled for the people that invested a lot of money to buy him,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis. “They backed me, and my judgment, and it looks like they've been rewarded with a very smart horse."

Somewhat different to expectations, Xtravagant flew out of barrier four to steady in front for an uncontested lead and the race appeared all over along way home for jockey Mark Sweeney.

Returning $4.80 & $2.90 in the seven horse field, Xtravagant covered the 1400 metres in 1:24.9.

“It was a very impressive effort,” said Ellis. “We bought this colt to run in races like the Hawkes Bay Guineas (Gr. 2, 1400m), the 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m), and for our owners that listened to me and took shares in this syndicate we have a very exciting quartet of horses on our hands.

“In addition to Xtravagant, in the Te Akau 2014 Breeding Syndicate, we have Splurge (Savabeel), Rocksun (Fastnet Rock), and Beacon of Hope (Fastnet Rock), so we have four really nice horses; all of which have pleased us.

“Xtavagant is the first horse that we've started, and we didn't buy precocious, early two-year-olds, we bought horses to run as three and four year olds and for him to debut like this at two, as a brother to He's Remarkable, is very exciting for his future."

Ellis purchased Xtravagant as a yearling for $375,000 at the 2014 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale, from the draft of Rich Hill Stud, and said at the time: “The head groom from Rich Hill told me this is the nicest colt he's ever been involved in preparing for the sale and he simply stood out to me in every measure.”

He's Remarkable, a $360,000 yearling purchase at Karaka, stamped his ability from the outset with an impressive debut win and went on to win six races including the Newmarket Handicap (Gr. 3, 1400m) at Newcastle in Sydney. He was also runner-up in the 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) and arguably should have gained a Group One win after being relegated in the $1m WATC Railway Stakes (Gr. 1, 1600m) at Ascot racecourse in Perth.

Xtravagant is from an unraced Zabeel (Sir Tristram) mare and his grand-dam is multiple stakes performer Arletty (Centaine). She won eight of her twenty-nine starts, including the Wilkinson Mile (Gr. 3, 1600m) and Ra Ora Stakes (Gr. 3, 2000m) at Ellerslie, the Villiers Stakes (Gr. 2, 1600m) at Randwick, and the Queen of the Turf (Gr. 2, 1500m) at Rosehill.

Prior to making his debut in the Maiden 2YO 1400 metres, Xtravagant had run home solidly for third to subsequent impressive race winner Let Her Rip (Rip Van Winkle) in a trial over 800 metres on February 24 at Matamata. Although having natural talent the ease of his victory was a little surprising to Te Akau trainer Jason Bridgman.

“We were looking for a nice educational run and to be fair he had been doing a bit wrong in his trials, so we weren't expecting that to be honest,” said Bridgman.

“The riders at home, and Cameron Lammas in particular, have put in an enormous amount of work into his development and it has certainly shone through.

“I thought it was a heady ride from Mark (Sweeney). After jumping in front he rated him beautifully and he really looks an exciting three-year-old prospect,” said Bridgman, of the colt that is likely to be put aside for a spell.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz