Tavy Making a Black Type Name for Herself

Three-year-old filly Tavy (NZ) (Tavistock) has made an impressive start to her racing career with victory at Ellerslie’s premier meeting on Saturday in the Listed $50,000 Trevor Eagle Memorial 3YO (1500m).

Tavy (NZ) winning the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial 3YO.  Photo courtesy of Trish Dunell.

This is Tavy’s second win in November for trainer Roger James; her first was also at Ellerslie Racecourse at their meeting on Melbourne Cup day. Saturday's race saw her win by a long neck, upgrading her to a stakes winner with just three starts under her belt.

“She has done everything we have asked of her to date and what she has done, she has done with ease at this stage,” commented trainer Roger James. 

Jockey Vinnie Colgan has been on board Tavy from the beginning of her racing debut and James comments “Vinnie holds her in high regard, Tavy is showing encouraging potential for her racing career and will return to Ellerslie to run in the Group 2 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic race on Boxing Day.”

She got caught back in the field in Saturday’s race but saw a window of opportunity as she turned for home and lengthened up the straight, overtaking Passing Shot (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and Ambitious Unicorn (NZ) (PIns). The race saw a Karaka trifecta as Midnitemagicman (NZ) (Tavistock) and Ambitious Unicorn came in  second and third placings respectively.

After Saturday’s win, the three-year-old filly has now earned $50,150 for her owners Dowager Duchess of Bedford, P W Hutt and F Rayon-Villela.

Roger James purchased the filly at the 2013 Karaka Select Yearling Sale for $40,000 from Brighthill Farm. He says he was looking for a yearling around this price bracket and this filly “just fitted the bill".

Tavy was bred by Bloomsbury Stud, she is out of a winning mare The Cat’s Whiskers by Tale of the Cat who is a three-quarter sister to Heads or Tales (Tale of the Cat), a stakes placegetter, and a half-sister to a Group 1 winner Tully Dane (Danehill) and Mygoodgrace (Royal Academy), a Listed winner.