Business as Usual for Richards

RaceForm reports: 

“None of this happens by accident, and none of it would be possible without the horses I'm so lucky to be training.”

On The Bubbles heads a Jamie Richards first four in the Karaka Million 2YO.

Even if he hasn't been at his normal post overseeing the Te Akau Racing team going through their paces at the Matamata training centre this week, it's been pretty much business as usual in the hectic life of runaway premiership leader Jamie Richards.

After an Ellerslie treble last Saturday, his fifth straight Karaka Million 2YO complete with a first four finish and going agonisingly close to a repeat of last year's Karaka Million double-header, Richards was within touching distance of an incredible century before the halfway mark of the 2020-21 season.

For this one week of his routine, the important business of standing alongside his boss David Ellis as they made their Karaka yearling purchases took precedence over standard routine. That's something that Richards has been doing since he was appointed Te Akau's racing manager and has doubled down on over the past five years as resident trainer.

From his first premiership with 104 wins in 2015-16, the first of three full seasons in partnership with Stephen Autridge, to another title with 101 wins in a Covid-truncated 2019-20, and now smashing his way to a third title with more than double the tally of his closest rivals, Richards is kicking goals that no-one before him has got close to.

There was a time when something in the region of 100 wins would have been a title clincher, but then Cambridge partners Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman forced a rethink with 143 wins in their standout 2016-17 season. Even that huge tally may be left in the dust by Richards as he marches onwards, going all but when Navalha brought up win number 99 on his home track on Monday.

Hastings on Thursday offers further chances for Richards to become the first New Zealand trainer to crack the ton before the season's halfway mark. But if that wasn't to happen, how good would it be for stable star Melody Belle to do the honours in the Thorndon Mile at Trentham on Saturday? That of course would also place her equal with the great mare Sunline on 13 Group One wins.

“At the end of the day it's only a number, every win along the way counts,” Richards said of his imminent century earlier this week. “If it was Melody Belle, that would be a fantastic way to get the 100, but if we could knock it off at Hastings, well I guess it would be good just to sign it off.

“There's plenty more to do as we move into the second half of the season and we've got a lot more feature racing both here and in Australia. I'm not going to try and predict what the figure might be by the end of the season, but one thing I do know is the wins will slow down once we hit those winter tracks.

“As things stand it's been a pretty big effort by the team, from David and Karyn down, everyone out at Te Akau, the staff at Matamata and everyone else who's been part of it. None of this happens by accident, and none of it would be possible without the horses I'm so lucky to be training.”

All five of the Karaka Million 2YO contingent are enjoying a week in the paddock before being individually assessed and plans formulated for late summer-autumn. Given the dominance On The Bubbles showed to win easily from the outside gate, Richards doesn't disguise his regard for the Brazen Beau gelding, whose record after last Saturday stood at an unbeaten three.

“He's a rock solid sort of horse, very straightforward and obviously talented, so it's pretty exciting to think what he might be capable of.”

After a standout Ellerslie Christmas carnival, followed last Saturday by wins to Need I Say More and Entriviere ahead of his Karaka Million 2YO first four, Richards cut a stark figure standing in the Ellerslie runner-up stall after Amarelinha had gone down narrowly to Aegon in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic.

Big boys don't cry though, and he's already confirmed plans for Amarelinha to head to the David & Karyn Ellis Fillies' Classic at Te Rapa on February 13 on her way to the Al Basti Equiworld New Zealand Oaks, for which she is the early favourite, at Trentham in March.

“It was still a very good effort, the other horse is a class animal and just that little bit better on the night. We'll keep her to her own sex for now and see where things stand after the Oaks.”

And there's plenty more on the immediate horizon. Melody Belle and Avantage will spearhead the Te Akau contingent for the Waikato Racing Club's big day when they line up in the Gr. 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes and Gr. 1 BCD Group Sprint. Looking westward, Epsom Handicap winner Probabeel and last-start New Zealand 1000 Guineas winner Kahma Lass are already in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, and Levin Classic runner-up Brando is being set for the Australian Guineas at Flemington in late February.