A Season of Success continues ...

With only three days until we turn every statistic "back to zero" and commence a brand new season - we have enjoyed the opportunity throughout July to reflect on Te Akau's record-breaking black type 2017-18 season.  The stable is proud of preparing 17 Group and Listed winners in New Zealand, five of them at the elite Group 1 level - and this horse certainly contributed to that tally ...

Two-year-old Sword of Osman (2 g Savabeel - Bunyah, by Distant View) followed an incredibly dominant win in the $70,000 Reid & Harrison Matamata Slipper (Gr. 3, 1200m) in February at Matamata, with victory in the $200,000 Sistema Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m) on Auckland Cup Day, 10 March, at Ellerslie.

Sword Of Osman was the sixth winner of the Matamata Slipper and fourth Sistema Stakes (formerly Diamond Stakes) winner for Te Akau.

One of the strongest and precocious sons of champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel), he was purchased by David Ellis for $165,000 at the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale, prepared by Trelawney Stud for breeder Joan Egan, and owned by the Te Akau Great Sword Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).

Sword of Osman went to the races without a trial: resulting in an easy three-length win in December at Awapuni, and four starts later he ended his campaign a Group One and Group Three winner, and nominee alongside stable-mate Avantage (Fastnet Rock) for Champion Two-Year-Old and Horse of the Year.

Not bad for a horse that was one of the last to be completely syndicated - along with Avantage!

“On 19^th December [2016] I inspected the yearling draft at Trelawney Stud and I sent Joan (Egan) a text as a left, saying: “I've just seen a top horse for the future, one that you've bred. He's been beautifully prepared and if ever I've seen a racehorse in the making it will be him”, Ellis said.

“We brought him back to Te Akau Stud to syndicate and he was one of the last horses that we fully sold and I've said before that sometimes the last to sell have ended up the best.”

A month before he debuted, Opie Bosson, aboard for each of his Group wins, rang Ellis after riding Sword Of Osman in work. He said: “He's magnificent the way he works, and his attitude”, and he said “he'll be a good horse, for certain”.

On inspection at Awapuni, commentator Tony Lee said: “He's got a bit of quality about him, the X factor, no public trials but I heard as soon as the book (fixed odds) opened $3k went on at $4.20, so he must go okay.”

Sword Of Osman is one of six named foals out of the raced European-bred mare Bunyah (Distant View) who is a half-sister to Group Three winner Governor Brown (Kingmambo) and listed winner Hataab (Woodman).

As well as producing Sword Of Osman, Bunyah is also the dam of the stakes-placed filly Fortaleza (Darci Brahma), winner of nine African Pulse (Johannesburg), four time winner Big Surprise (Lucky Unicorn), dual winner Sazzana (Savabeel), and talented galloper Arundel (Duke of Marmalade).

The 17-year-old mare Bunyah had a filly by Ocean Park (Thorn Park) born last December and was not covered in 2017.

At the time of his Sistema success, Sword Of Osman was one of 73 stakes' winners and the 16th Group One winner for his Waikato Stud-based sire Savabeel (Zabeel), who stood for a fee of NZ$100,000 (plus GST) in 2017.