Quality New Zealand-trained three-year-old Avantage will contest the Gr.3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday in preference to the Listed Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) on the same program.
“She is going to run in the fillies and mares race, we just thought it was probably the softer option and she had a bit of a better barrier draw,” said Paul Richards, travelling foreman for his son Jamie.
“I think she will measure up alright. She did a bit of three-quarter pace work this morning and came home the last 400m and worked very nicely.
“She has coped really well with the travel, it has been no problem at all. She didn’t eat up completely the first night but she hasn’t missed an oat since. I can’t fault her.”
A winner of six of her seven career starts, Avantage had a set-back in spring and prepared for her trip to Sydney with two recent trials, including a winning performance at Avondale.
Last season’s Champion New Zealand Two-Year-Old, Avantage has never raced on a surface as rain-affected as the Heavy conditions expected at Rosehill on Saturday.
“I’m reasonably confident,” Richards said. “I don’t know the form over here that well but she is in good order and as long as she gets through the track alright she will race well.”
– NZ Racing Desk
