Incredible Track Record

Te Akau principal David Ellis remained leading buyer for the 15^th consecutive year at the recently completed New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales Series at Karaka.

Given added impetus a day beforehand when Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards saddled both the $1m Karaka Million race winners at Ellerslie, with Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel) in the Karaka Million (Restricted Listed, 1200m) and Probabeel (Savabeel) in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (Restricted Listed, 1600m), Ellis ramped things up with 33 purchases.

Although, it does not stop there, as the stable also houses reigning Horse of the Year and 10-time Group One winner Melody Belle (Commands), Cox Plate (Gr. 1, 2040m) placed Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle), rising star Prise De Fer (Savabeel), Telegraph (Gr. 1, 1200m) winner Avantage (Fastnet Rock), and many more, while Richards leads the premiership in every facet: wins (80), group and listed wins (10), prize money ($2.9m), and strike rate (4.9), at the halfway stage of the season.

Interestingly, too, and not to be
overlooked, Ellis has bought horses that have dominated in the richest races -
12 in the past four years to be exact.

“In the last four years there has been ten $1 million races and horses that I've bought have had six wins and six seconds,” Ellis said. “We started with Melody Belle winning the Karaka Million and Gingernuts the Derby in 2017, then successive Karaka Millions with Avantage and Probabeel, and Cool Aza Beel and Probabeel again this year. And our horses that finished second were Embellish, Al Hasa, Mongolianconqueror, Aotea Lad, The Real Beel, and In A Twinkling.

“When I checked the stats I got a bit of a surprise, but it really is something to be proud of. It shows that we are buying the right horses and, given time, they are rewarding our owners in the richest races that we have to offer in New Zealand.”

Agreeing with the fact, New
Zealand Bloodstock Managing Director Andrew Seabrook said: “It's all very well
going to the sales and putting your hand up to buy the number of horses that he
does, but the results have to back that up. And, it's plain to see the success
that David Ellis has had with his purchases from Karaka.

“I don't think anyone out there
would disagree that the impact David (Ellis) has on the sales is very
significant and I doubt there is another person in the bloodstock world that
would have the equivalent impact at any other sale worldwide.

“He was responsible for almost
ten percent of the gross turnover at the Book 1 Sale and effectively he's
buying most of them on spec.

“Also, David is greatly assisted
by his wife, Karyn (Fenton-Ellis MNZM), who is up to all hours communicating
with clients and potential clients and her input into the sales process is
enormous.”

One group that the endeavours and results by Ellis have not been lost on is Boys Get Paid, whose involvement with Te Akau horses has recently seen them celebrating three wins.

“David (Ellis) and Jamie (Richards) leave no stone unturned and there's so much work that goes on behind the scenes to give them and their owners every possible chance of being represented in these big races,” said BGP leader Luke Kemeys.

“It's always those one-percenters
that make the difference in business, and life, and racing. The Te Akau
business, and the way they conduct themselves, they're always searching for
that one-percent and that's very much needed if you want to differentiate
yourself between success and not quite hitting the mark.

“The feedback from our people
that have taken shares with Te Akau is that they've had different levels of
budgets and all been welcomed and treated well no matter what they've got to
play with, as such, with ownership in these horses.

“My message would be to not shy
way from getting in touch and find out if there's a share available that might
suit you or your budget, or the sorts of races you'd like to target or type of
horses you'd like to be involved in.

“Because David and the team buy
so many horses and have such a good understanding of how long they're going to
take (before racing) and those sorts of things, you can be upfront about what
you're hoping to achieve and then you're more likely to get into the right sort
of horse that's going to get you excited. And, that's important.”

With a Facebook group of 16,300
members, containing many an avid punter, Boys Get Paid has put together a
punter's club that has been substantially rewarded at the Karaka Million
meetings, while using Te Akau trained horses as the cornerstone.

“We were on Avantage to win the Karaka Million and backed her to place as well, so we were confident with her and finished a nice multi on Embellish to place, as well.” Kemeys said.

“We backed Probabeel last year and again this year, and we've relied heavily on the opinion of the stable which has given us more confidence in having a bet. They do have such a good strike-rate in those races (winning the last four Karaka Million's) and they know how to get those horses into the race at the right time. They are targeted and they're very methodical about getting the right horses into the right races.

“From that, we've been able to bet with confidence and get everyone a return (on investment). We've collected over $350,000 landed on Te Akau horses on Karaka Million evening.

“I've spoken to David (Ellis)
each year and asked for his opinion and taken his assessment of the entire
field into account when deciding what we're going to back. This year, we didn't
end up backing Cool Aza Beel but we could have listened, realistically, because
David was bloody confident.”

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