El Viento Runs Like the Wind

Nicely placed by Te Akau trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson, El Viento (5 g El Roca – Mandeville, by Hussonet) kept his winning sequence going in the $18,500 The HTL Group Rating 75 1800 metres on 31 December at New Plymouth.

Having returned to winning form on his favourite course in the Rating 75 1600 metres on 19 December at Matamata, El Viento remained in the same grade, had fought well for second on the course in November and given Heavy8 track conditions, he was the only runner of an original five that the trainers elected to start.

Ridden by reigning Champion Jockey Craig Grylls, after Rory Hutchings was no longer riding at the meeting, El Viento faced only four rivals, and after being content to track them at the back, he improved inside the 600m to a challenging position and drew out over the final furlong to comfortably justify the $1.60 favouritism.

Winning by two and a half lengths on Heavy8, El Viento ran 1800 metres in 1:55.8 and last 600m in 36.2 (approx.). 

“He took good confidence from his last win at Matamata, and he’s gone on with the job to record his fifth win today,” Walker said.

“He’s still got a few barrier issues as we saw today, and we continue to work hard on those, but on his day he’s a really good galloper and the team has done a brilliant job with him.

“He’ll be up to Open Handicap grade now, but he’s continuing to put together a good record and has the ability to cope with the next step.”

Owned by the Te Akau Fly Like The Wind Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis), El Viento was purchased by David Ellis CNZM for $95,000 at the 2022 NZB Ready to Run Sale, from the draft of Westbury Stud, after breezing up in the top 20 times (10.26) when galloping prior to the sale at Te Rapa. 

Approaching 200 individual winners, sire El Roca, by Champion Sire Fastnet Rock (Danehill), keeps producing good racehorses, among them former Te Akau purchased and trained Romancing The Moon won the Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m). 

His dam Mandeville was a winner over 1600 metres in Australia, and is doing a great job as a broodmare producing nine individual winners of 26 races. While his dam-sire Hussonet (Mr. Prospector) was a highly respected sire of over 20 Champion gallopers worldwide, while further enhancing his status as a very influential broodmare sire. 

El Viento carries a Nijinsky (Northern Dancer) cross through the dam line of Fastnet Rock and dam side of Mandeville. 

It was a fitting finale to the year for Walker & Bergerson, who lead the Trainers Premiership with 57 wins, having kept alive an unbeaten six-year streak for the stable when winning their 16th Training Premiership title in the 2024/25 season, which coincided with the pair also again being named Champion Trainers.

Recording a tally of 131 wins in the 2024/25 season, the pair also established a new record of $9.27 million in prize money.

While in addition, at the 2025 Horse of the Year Awards in September, Te Akau, who had won Horse of the Year in five of the past six years, with dual winners Melody Belle (Commands) and Probabeel (Savabeel), and Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), had finalists in Champion Two-Year-Old, Champion Three-Year-Old, Champion Stayer, Owner of the Year, and Trainer of the Year, with La Dorada (Super Seth) named Champion Two-Year-Old.

The three Te Akau stables, in Matamata, Christchurch, and Melbourne, are each producing a steady stream of winners, while the yearling buying team, headed by Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM, is preparing for the upcoming Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Jan. 13 – 18), followed by Karaka 2026 (Jan. 25 – 29). 

El Viento was strapped by Rhiannon Smith. 

Photo credit - Peter Rubery - www.raceimages.co.nz