Avantage Best Gr1 Performer for Fastnet

No son or daughter of international champion sire Fastnet Rock has won more Group 1 titles than Karaka graduate Avantage, who triumphed at the elite level for the seventh time in Saturday’s $200,000 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa, reports NZ Racing Desk. Bought by Te Akau’s David Ellis for $210,000 from The Oaks Stud’s draft at the 2017 Premier Sale, Avantage has now won 14 of her 24 starts and more than $1.9 million in stakes. Her Group 1 victories have come over 1200, 1400, 1600 and 2000 metres. Avantage’s scintillating performance in Saturday’s BCD Group Sprint was one of her very best. Opie Bosson had her perfectly positioned behind the front-running Manrico (NZ) (Shocking), then released the brakes and allowed her to cruise up alongside that rival coming up to the home turn. It was a one-act affair from there as Avantage went into full flight, charging away to win by three and a half lengths in a sizzling time of 1:20.87. It was a third consecutive BCD Group Sprint triumph for trainer Jamie Richards and the Te Akau team, all with Karaka graduates. Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) won by a similar margin last year, and Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) triumphed in 2019.

Avantage was imperious in the BCD Sprint (pic: Trish Dunell)