Elite players had a mare at the outset (1-4)
I believe the answer is:
a-team
'elite players' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't judge whether this works.
'had a mare at the outset' is the wordplay.
'had' becomes 'ate' (e.g. I had an ice cream).
'at the outset' indicates taking the first letters (the outset is the beginning).
The initial letter of 'mare' is 'm'.
'ate'+'a'+'m'='A-TEAM'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for a-team that I've seen before include "Elite group of soldiers or workers" , "top people" , "Elite troops" .)
