Star Mare Avantage Defends Telegraph Crown

Superb mare Avantage (Fastnet Rock) lifted her Group One tally to six with a dominant defence of her crown in Saturday’s $250,000 Group One JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham. 

Bought for $210,000 by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis from The Oaks Stud’s draft at the 2017 Premier Sale, Avantage has now had 23 starts for 13 wins, three placings and $1.8 million in stakes.

Along with back-to-back Telegraph triumphs, the exceptional and versatile mare has also won the Group One Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), Haunui Farm WFA Classic (1600m), New Zealand Stakes (2000m) and this month’s Sistema Railway (1200m).

Saturday’s second Telegraph was as easy as it gets, sitting just behind the pace before unleashing a brilliant finishing burst and sprinting clear to win by two lengths. The winner’s stablemate Burgundy Belle (NZ) (Burgundy) completed a great result for the stable with a strong-finishing third.

“Avantage is a great mare and has done us all proud,” trainer Jamie Richards said. “That was pretty special.

“She’s done a fantastic job for us. I would like to give her a chance to put a Group One in Australia on the board. I think she deserves the opportunity, so we’ll have to sit down and make a plan on how we get there.

“She can be a bit difficult behind the scenes and on raceday. When we first saw her at the sales, we thought she might just be a two-year-old. She’s now justified everybody’s faith in her and has done a wonderful job. The best thing about her is her constitution and her willingness to be a racehorse.”

Winning jockey Danielle Johnson is also among Avantage’s biggest admirers. The pair have now won five races together, three of them at the elite level.

“She’s just a pleasure to ride,” she said. “Words can’t really describe how exciting it is to get on her and win Group Ones.

“Everything seemed to work out well – we were three wide, but with cover. I knew what I had underneath me, but I wanted her to keep running to the line.

“1200m, 1400m, a mile or 2000m doesn’t matter to her. She just keeps winning and it’s a pleasure to be associated with her.”

The Telegraph triumph came at the perfect time for Ellis, who is gearing up to once again be a powerhouse player on the buying bench at Karaka 2021 in just a few days’ time.

“What an absolute thrill to win back-to-back Telegraphs,” he said. “We’ve won the race previously with King’s Chapel (King of Kings) and Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill), and for this mare to win it twice is just incredible.

“It’s our 20th black-type win for the season, the sixth Group One, and I’m so proud to win another Group One for the owners. They’re a fantastic bunch of people, and most of them have shares in other horses with us as well.”

Vendor	The Oaks Stud
Purchaser	Mr DC Ellis (Te Akau)
Breeding	Fastnet Rock – Asavant
Sale	Lot 50, 2017 Premier Sale, $210,000
Bred by	Mr W Calder & Mrs K N Calder