Promising mare Our Abbadean showed she was on target to tackle Group Two company at Te Rapa later this month when she gave her rivals weight and a beating over 2200 metres at the venue on the weekend.
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Fourth at her most recent start in the Gr. 3 Cuddle Stakes at Trentham, Our Abbadean carried the equal top-weight of 59kgs as the highest rated runner in the nine-horse field on Saturday. Despite the hefty impost, the four-year-old mare and rider Opie Bosson showed their rivals a clean pair of heels as she dashed away in the home straight to record a comfortable 2 ¼ length victory.
"She's gone some really nice races, sometimes not had any luck, and it was the first time she's had a good draw," said Stephen Autridge, who trains the mare with Jamie Richards.
"She got a beautiful run and Opie said he couldn't believe how well she was going and that it was a very, very good win."
Autridge said that providing Our Abbadean came through the race accordingly, she could run in the $100,000 Gr. 2 Travis Stakes on 29 April at Te Rapa.
"She loves Te Rapa, 2000 metres, shown she can carry a bit of weight which she would have to do because it's weight-for-age for fillies and mares and of course the owners would love to get black type with her," he said.
Bred and raced by the Hawkins family the mare has now won four times and finished fourth or better in 11 of her 16 starts.
"It's great to be supported by breeders in the industry and the Hawkins family look to have a staying mare with a lot of promise on their hands," said Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis.
"They are terrific supporters of the racing industry and it's always a thrill to win races for them. They've had horses in our stable for a long time and they're a great family to train for.
"They have allowed Steve and Jamie to give her plenty of time to reach maturity and after finishing fourth in both the Douro Cup and Cuddle Stakes she certainly appears capable of black type, which is so important to breeders."
Ellis outlaid $46,000 during the Select session of the NZB Yearling Sale Series earlier this year for Our Abbadean's half-sister, by Bullbars, that was offered through the Wentwood Grange draft.
