A brilliant 3yo season has duly resulted in our very own He’s Remarkable’s (full) brother to be awarded with the Champion 3-year-old Horse of the Year award at last nights Group 1 Awards. Xtravagant scored two of the most dazzling victories in New Zealand Group One races in recent memory, sweeping his rivals aside by eight and a half lengths in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas in November before blazing away from older horses to win the NRM Sprint by eight lengths in February. He was the first three-year-old to win the prestigious weight-for-age event since Western Red in 1994.
Xtravagant finished his season with an easy win over a strong field in the Gr. 3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, signing off with a 2015-16 record of five wins from nine appearances.
“He’s a beauty,” Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis said. “He’s a horse you can really love, and his racing style is hugely exciting.
The Cox Plate now lies on Xtravagant’s horizon.
