Well-bred filly Avantaggia has earned a shot at stakes level after breaking through with victory in the Porirua Club Punters Handicap (1200m) at Otaki on Saturday.
By Wootton Bassett and out of Te Akau Racing’s nine-time Group 1 winner Avantage, Avantaggia has carried significant expectations since birth. Those expectations grew further when Te Akau principal David Ellis paid A$2.1 million for her at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She opened her winning account at her second start at Te Aroha last year and followed that performance with a placing at her home track of Matamata last month.
Co-trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson were confident heading into Saturday’s assignment, and the filly delivered with a determined half-length victory under jockey Samantha Collett.
“It was a good effort by Avantaggia and certainly a good ride by Sam,” Walker said. “She was positive out of the gates to take a position in third on the fence and she was really strong through the line.
“She has taken a while to build-up physically, but obviously she’s got a lovely pedigree and I think she’s only going to get better as a four and five-year-old.
“It’s really good for the owners to have her win two of her first five starts. They have been very patient and she’ll now get an opportunity at black type.”
Her next assignment is set to be the Group 3 Windsor Park Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa on ANZAC Day.
Elsewhere, the stable enjoyed further success at Riccarton on Saturday, with Enchantment and Never Too Much running the quinella in the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m). Later in the program, Insatiable and Cognoscenti completed a treble for the stable, winning the Angus Meats Open Handicap (1200m) and the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge (2000m) respectively.
The win by Insatiable marked his sixth career success and second at open level, with the stakes-performed six-year-old having previously claimed the Banks Peninsula Cup (1100m) in February.
“He’s just got to be held up for the last run and you could see how strongly he was travelling in behind them for Joe (Doyle, jockey) before he found a gap,” Walker said.
“He went back, rode for luck, and he’s got a short, sharp, sprint when you hold him up like that and get some room late.
“Hunter (Durrant, assistant trainer) and the team had him turned out perfectly and it was great to see him get his second Open Handicap win.”
