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Saturday’s G3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings has set the bar high for the 47th New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series.
The first leg of the esteemed series was won by last season’s champion two-year-old Avantage, the Fastnet Rock filly who won five of her six starts including the Karaka Million and G1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.
She was bought for $210,000 by Te Akau principal David Ellis at the 2017 Premier Sale at Karaka, and before Saturday she had already earned her syndicate of owners more than $760,000 in prize-money.She was challenged by the locally trained Xpression (Showcasing), who had won two of her three starts including last season’s G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes and made a it a thrilling contest as the pair went to war over the last 200m.
Xpression charged down the outside from last and in a desperate fight to the finish Avantage snatched victory by a short head.
The win took Avantage’s earnings past $NZ800,000 with six wins in her seven start career for Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards.Avantage (Fastnet Rock x Asvant by Zabeel) takes the early Filly of the Year Series lead with 6 points. The Te Akau colours won the Filly of the Year title in 2013-14 with Costa Viva (Encosta de Lago) and King’s Rose (Redoute’s Choice) in 2010-11.
Xpression picked up three points with her second placing on Saturday, while Rocket Fuel collected 1.5 for third.The second leg of the series is the prestigious New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton on November 17.
• Locally-trained filly Emily Margaret (Pins x Seven Schillings by O’Reilly) showed fighting qualities to withstand the challenge of northern visitor Wekaforce (Showcasing) and claim the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes at Riccarton.The victory provided former Waikato Stud champion sire Pins (Snippets), who died earlier this year due to complications caused by colic, with his 76th stakes winner.