Xtravagant Named Champion 3YO

The Informant reports:

Sacred Elixir's closest rival for the Champion 2YO award was the unbeaten Gr. 1 Diamond Stakes winner Heroic Valour. But any disappointment that colt's owners, Te Akau Racing and trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards felt over the loss was eased by the Champion Three-Year-Old award for Xtravagant.

The striking Pentire colt scored two of the most dazzling victories in New Zealand Group One races in recent memory, sweeping his rivals aside by eight and a half lengths in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas in November before blazing away from older horses to win the NRM Sprint by eight lengths in February. He was the first three-year-old to win the prestigious weight-for-age event since Western Red in 1994.

Xtravagant finished his season with an easy win over a strong field in the Gr. 3 Cambridge Breeders' Stakes, signing off with a 2015-16 record of five wins from nine appearances.

"He's a beauty," Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis said. "He's a horse you can really love, and his racing style is hugely exciting.

"The other nominees are all very good horses and I wasn't sure if we would win tonight. They will all go on to be great four-year-olds.

"We've got a table of true champions here tonight who get up at 3 o'clock every morning and look after these horses. They do a great job, and Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards have steered it perfectly. Matt Cameron has also been a huge part of his success."

The Cox Plate now lies on Xtravagant's horizon.