Fresh from a winning double at Te Rapa on Wednesday, the Te Akau training partnership of Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards will be looking for further success in the warmer climbs of Ruakaka on Saturday.
The duo will tackle the Listed Tavistock Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) with impressive debut winner Xtravagant and Castletown Stakes winning filly Stella Di Paco.
Xtravagant, a brother to He’s Remarkable, turned heads with a seven and a quarter-length victory on debut at Hastings in April and has prepared for his seasonal bow with a third placing at the Te Teko trials.
“We intended to ride him a touch colder at the trials, but he is very quick from the gates,” co-trainer Jamie Richards said.
“The plan is to teach him to settle on Saturday and see him running on and I think with Amarula and Dal Cielo in the field there should be reasonable pace on.
“Once he learns to settle he will have a future over further and he could be a potential Derby colt.
“He was going to run in the three-year-old 1200 metre race on the opening day of the Hawke’s Bay Carnival, but his bloods weren’t quite right. We’re really pleased with his work and he’s starting to relax.”
Safely through Saturday’s Ruakaka feature, Xtravagant will likely tackle the Gr.2 Sacred Falls Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) on October 3 before plotting a path to the Gr.1 Sothys 2000 Guineas at Riccarton.
Richards is also looking forward to seeing stablemate Stella Di Paco on a firmer surface, with the Ruakaka track rated a Dead 6.
“She won well on a slow track in the Castletown Stakes as a two-year-old, but has been tripped up by the heavy track in her last couple so we want to give her a chance on a better surface,” Richards said. “She is a stakes winner and deserves her place in the field.”
Three-year-old gelding Beacon Of Hope also represents the stable on Saturday when lining up in the Stirling Bloodstock 1400.
Fourth on debut at Taupo last month, the son of Fastnet Rock was a $680,000 acquisition as a yearling and has pleased his conditioners.
“He’s a big, athletic horse and we think he’s a stakes-class horse in the making,” Richards said.
“He was slow out of the gates at Taupo and in the worst ground, but Michael McNab was pleased with the run.”
