2020 - Quite a Year for Te Akau

How to find a word to describe 2020 - a few come to mind in a global and national sense - zoom, tumultuous, unpredictable, uncertain - unprecedented.

How to find a word to describe 2020 for Te Akau Racing - adaptable, inspirational, teamwork, staunch, achievement, determination, thrilling, results - pride.

It has been a tremendous calendar
year for Te Akau Racing, and principal David Ellis CNZM has a lot to be proud
of.

“We started the year with Te Akau's Kranji-based trainer Mark Walker being named Champion Trainer for the third time in Singapore,” he said.

"That's an extraordinary achievement to have won three Singapore Trainers' Premierships in five years - to add to his five in New Zealand."

The season kicked off in winning style for the New Zealand team from the day the calendar turned over to 2020.

“Prise De Fer (Savabeel) won the Rich Hill Mile (Gr. 2, 1600m) on New Year's Day, Avantage (Fastnet Rock) won the Telegraph (Gr. 1, 1200m) in January, on her way to her incredible Group One treble over a mile in the Haunui Farm Classic (Gr. 1, 1600m), and the Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr. 1, 2000m).

“We won both big races on Karaka Million night at Ellerslie, with Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel) becoming our fourth consecutive Karaka Million 2YO (Restricted Listed, 1200m) winner and Probabeel (Savabeel) made history and became the first ever to win both Karaka Million's when winning the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (Restricted Listed, 1200m).

“Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle)
won his first Group One in the BCD Group Sprint (Gr. 1, 1400m) in February at
Te Rapa, and then along with Probabeel they both won Group Ones on the same day
at Royal Randwick, when he won the Chipping Norton (Gr. 1, 1600m) and she won
the Surround Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m).

“And a week later, on Auckland
Cup Day at Ellerslie, another Group One double when Cool Aza Beel won the
Sistema Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m) and Avantage won the Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr. 1,
2000m).

“It's just been an incredible year and my gut feeling is that there has never been a stable in NZ that has had a year like we've had.”

During the last Saturday meeting before lockdown put paid to racing for 12 weeks, Scott Base (Dalghar) won the Japan Trophy (Gr. 2, 1600m) on 21 March Tauranga, while Need I Say More (No Nay Never), an early favourite for the Sires' Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) on 28 March at Awapuni, was left lamenting what might have been. The showy chestnut has since won the Northland Breeders' Stakes (Gr. 3, 1200m) and Sarten Memorial (Gr. 2, 1400m).

The Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival, which reigning dual Horse of the Year Melody Belle (Commands) made her own in 2019 with an historical first in winning all three legs of the Triple Crown, returned from Australia in time to capture both the Windsor Park Plate (Gr. 1, 1600m) and Livamol Classic (Gr. 1, 2040m) and remain unbeaten in seven Group 1 races on the course. Incredibly, the former Champion Two-Year-Old, with 12 Group 1 wins, is now only one behind Sunline (Desert Sun) in the all-time NZ record.

Around the same time, Probabeel (Savabeel) was capturing the attention of Aussie pundits with an emphatic victory in the Bill Ritchie Handicap (Gr. 3, 1400m) and gained her second Group 1 on the Royal Randwick course with a tremendous performance in the iconic $1m Epsom Handicap (Gr. 1, 1600m).

Attention turned to lead-up races for the 1000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) and 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) at Riccarton, races that Te Akau have won 11 times in the past 16 years. Cornflower Blue (Savabeel) was polished winning the Barneswood Farm Stakes (Gr. 3, 1400m) at Ashburton, while Kahma Lass (Darci Brahma) signalled her readiness for the 1000 Guineas when charging home for second in the Soliloquy Stakes (Gr. 3, 1400m) at Te Rapa. She would go to win the prestigious event for fillies in convincing fashion, a race in which Cornflower Blue finished third.

Also on New Zealand Cup Day,
Kahma Lass joined four other winners on the programme for trainer Jamie
Richards, including Welcome Stakes (Listed, 1000m) winner Avonallo (Belardo),
while Festivity (I Am Invincible) and Fabulous Flight (I Am Invincible) rounded
out seven wins for the weekend.

The year, thus far, has produced 25 stakes wins, made up of 11 Group 1, three Group 2, seven Group 3, two listed, and two Restricted Listed (Karaka Million 2YO & 3YO).

Every Group 1 winner produced by Te Akau this year has been selected and purchased by David Ellis - Avantage, Te Akau Shark, Probabeel, Cool Aza Beel, Melody Belle and Kahma Lass.

Having ended the 2018/19 season on 98 New Zealand wins in his first as solo trainer for Te Akau Racing, Richards led the Trainers' Premiership in all facets: wins, prize money (nearly $4 million - over $7 million including Australia), Group & Listed wins, and the best strike rate (4.8) among the top 10 trainers in the country to win the 2019/20 premiership.

Adding to his 17 stakes' victories in New Zealand, Richards added three Group 1 wins in Australia, with 11 of his 20 Group & Listed wins coming in Group 1 races and a total of 104 wins for the season. During the season, Richards was rated as high as ninth in the TRC Global Trainer Rankings and currently sits eighth.

He was the sole nominee for Champion Trainer of the Year, while also winning the Trainers' Premiership, at the 2020 New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards, during a ceremony where Te Akau had a hand in 10 of the 19 titles.

Richards currently has a mortgage on the this season's premiership standings. His 69 wins are more than double that of the nearest rival (31), at an excellent strike rate (5.3), and well ahead of target in chasing down the national record (143). He is also streets ahead with 10 domestic stakes' wins - and one each at Group 1 and Group 3 level in Australia.

Headlining once again at the NZ Racing Awards, star mare Melody Belle (Commands) retained her Horse of the Year title, winning both Champion Sprinter/Miler and Champion Middle Distance. Trainer Jamie Richards won both the Trainers Premiership and Trainer of the Year, Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel) was Champion Two-Year-Old, Opie Bosson was Jockey of the Year, Julia-Rose Hayes won the Contribution to Media, Digital, and Content, and Brendan & Jo Lindsay, largely through the deeds of Probabeel (Savabeel), won the Owners Premiership.

In addition to achievements by
the horses, David Ellis was honoured with his appointment as a Companion of the
New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), in addition to the Outstanding Contribution
to Racing Award he received in 2017, both for services to the Thoroughbred
Racing Industry and his ongoing encouragement of people in the business.

“It was incredible to receive a
letter from the Prime Minister during lockdown with the news of being awarded a
CNZM,” Ellis said.

“It was very humbling and my
immediate thoughts were of all the owners that had supported Te Akau and had
horses with us over the last 40 years.

“We've provided a lot of jobs,
nurtured apprentice riders and given a lot their first winning rides, and all
of the contribution from our staff here at the farm and at the stables
attributed to receiving such an honour.

“It's a fantastic industry,
exciting, and one that has always captured my attention and the aim is to keep
buying and training horses so that owners can experience the winning feeling.
There is nothing else like, believe me.”

“And, it was also good to receive an award and put me on par with my wife, Karyn (Fenton-Ellis MNZM), who had received a New Zealand Order of Merit,” added Ellis, tongue in cheek.

It has been a phenomenal last 12
months for the tangerine clad reps, and while a time for reflection, both Ellis
and Richards are now also busy scouring for the next superstar.

In the lead-up to the Karaka 2021
(Book 1, 24 - 26 January, Book 2 27 & 28 January), they began their
yearlings inspections on Monday 30 November, with a visit to see the yearling
fillies at Pencarrow Stud, and will be on the march, thereafter, critiquing the
respective drafts.

“I've seen some very nice horses
out there that I think can go on to become very good racehorses,” Ellis said.

Adding: “We're very lucky to be
holding the sales in January. If it wasn't in January, I would have almost
certainly gone to Australia for the next couple of months and concentrated our
buying efforts at the yearling sales there.

“I wouldn't have been prepared to
wait until April, which was the alternative date, so I think we're lucky that
New Zealand Bloodstock showed their leadership and are running the yearling
sales at the normal time in January.

“We've got owners that want to buy at all budget levels. We've got good horses in the stable that cost 50-100k and good horses that have cost 300-400k, so we'll be buying at all levels again in the New Year.

“Our results on Karaka Million
night at Ellerslie (eve of the sales) I think identifies for potential
investors what they can be racing for, 12 and 24 months on from the sales.

“It's a really fun night at the
races that was instigated by New Zealand Bloodstock 13 years ago. It's been a
tremendous success and I really hope the breeders continue to get in behind it.

“We've had a lot of luck, hope
that continues and we've certainly got some nice horses for the races again
this year. But, you don't win at that level all that time and everybody has a
turn.

“It has been a remarkably
successful night for Te Akau (winning last four Karaka Million 2YO races and a
double in both 2YO and 3YO races last year) and it justifies the huge time
commitment we put into buying these yearlings.”

Ellis has recently been in the
news, with comments regarding an additional stable base in Australia.

“I'm probably favouring going to
Sydney, and having perhaps 20 boxes at Randwick,” he said. “We won't be putting
any further thought into it until the Australasian borders are open, but it's
something we'll definitely do in time.

“We've got a couple of horses
racing over there at present and will have more heading into the autumn and
would love to have a more permanent base as soon as we're able to come and go
freely.

“We've won three Group 1 races in
Australia in the past 12 months, plus Melody Belle won during the 2019
Melbourne Cup Carnival, and they're all very special. The race I'd love to win
is the Golden Slipper (Gr. 1, 1200m) because if it's colt he's worth so much
money and if it's a filly then she's a very valuable broodmare.”

Having been involved in every facet of the racing industry, from punter, to administrator, and now the largest syndicator in the history of New Zealand racing, Ellis made comment on how things stand at present.

“It's difficult to put a finger on what exactly it is, but we've never had more people wanting to invest in horse ownership. For a variety of reasons, I think people know that stake money is going to increase, and we've now got some really good racing administrators that will take us to the next level.

“Having Cameron George as the new
chairman of NZTR is just amazing to have someone of his quality and he's one of
the most capable blokes I've ever met. He has talented team to work with and
already they're making good decisions.

“Decisions on the elimination of
betting duty next season that will give us $12m a year, the Race fields
Legislation is in place to bring $15-$20m per annum, and the TAB has reduced
its costs by $20m per year. So, you combine those decisions with record
turnovers and you can see that stakes are going to go up quite quickly. Which
they need to, but they will.”

Being the leading stable is hard work, sourcing quality bloodstock ongoing and gaining the support of owners, but Ellis, as usual, is indebted and complimentary of his staff at both Te Akau Stud and the Matamata stables, and those working with Mark Walker at Te Akau Racing in Singapore.

“The people are incredibly
important because Jamie (Richards) and Mark (Walker) can't do it on their own,”
he said.

“We've got a really good team of people around us at every level. We had our team Christmas party on Monday night in Matamata, and I thought just how exciting it is to have so many really capable young people and enthusiastic experienced people working for us.

“They are genuine, want to achieve in the industry, talented and loyal, and I'd like to think they're in the right place to achieve their goals. We try and provide them with the best horses to work with and I think they're all really enjoying the success.”

GO THE TANGERINE ...
& BRING ON ...

Back