Top 2YO Avantage Eyes Riccarton

The Informant reports:

Avantage, the leading light among last season's two-year-olds in New Zealand, is on target to trial later this month.

“She'll either trial at Te Rapa on the 21st (August) or a day later in one of the open heats at the Taupo race meeting,” trainer Jamie Richards said. “She hasn't grown a lot, but she's strengthened up a bit and is coming to hand.

“The trial will tell us where to run her first-up, either the Gold Trail Stakes or the Canterbury Belle Stakes, both are over 1200 metres on the same day (September 22). The main aim is the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton in November.”

A daughter of Fastnet Rock, Avantage was beaten just once in six starts last season - a fast-finishing second to stablemate Sword Of Osman in the Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes.  On either side of that, she won the Karaka Million and the Gr. 1 Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes.