Five Winners in 48 Hours - Plus ...

It has been a huge weekend for Te Akau Racing - with FIVE winners in two countries over a 48 hour period - a terrific result for Te Akau owners.

The success began on Friday afternoon when Highly Likely saluted the judge at Te Rapa.  That night at Kranji it was the turn of promising maiden Q Nine Maxim.

Saturday was full on with TWO winners and TWO runners up at Riccarton from just the four starters - Flaming and Special Memories won their respective races while Risque and Vive La Difference were gallant in second place.  It was a great result to see Special Memories and Risque quinella the Guineas' Trial.

In the north, the run of Hastings had to be Scrutinize and we can't wait to see his final sectionals, storming home from well back to claim second in the $100,000 Group 2 Hawke's Bay Guineas.

The TAB bookmakers promptly moved him into outright favouritism for the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas on 7 November.  While that is still a few weeks away, this beautiful Savabeel colt out of dual Group 1 winning mare Legs is moving in exactly the right direction.  Had he been able to win, he would have claimed victory on the very same day that his mother won her second Group 1 - the (then) Kelt Capital Stakes, now the Livamol Classic.

Te Akau's two other runners at Hastings also performed well with Love Triangle giving every indication that the mile will be right up her alley in the Group 1 1000 Guineas and Imperium finishing off nicely in a race not run to suit by any means.

To cap the weekend off it was the stunning 15 length win by Lady Painton at Waipa that had heads turning.  Following on from Risque's spectacular 11 length demolition of her Ashburton opposition two starts ago, Lady Painton's field likewise had no answer to the whitewash.  A lovely indeed she is, raced by stalwart Stan Painton.

So with five winners in 48 hours the team's are buzzing!

Mark remains ahead on the Singapore Trainers' Premiership with 67 wins and prize money closing in on $4 million!  Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards have moved to a clear second on the New Zealand Trainers' table with 14 wins, 11 second and eight third placegetters.  Stakes' earnings are at $180,340 with a strike rate of just 5.36 - well done to the whole team including Pam Gerard who is overseeing our southern horses, ably assisted by Gary Ritchie.

And to cap off an excellent weekend, David's eldest daughter Joanna and her husband Leon welcomed their son, our first grandchild, into the world early on Sunday - congratulations to them!