Lara Wins Champion 2YO Honours

Unbeaten, brilliant and dominant throughout her juvenile season, Lara Antipova was deservedly crowned Champion Two-Year-Old after winning all four of her starts.

She became the ninth Te Akau-trained winner of the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m), a race won the previous year by Return To Conquer (Snitzel), who recorded the milestone 100th Group One victory for Te Akau in 2025 and is now standing his first season at Waikato Stud.

Lara Antipova also provided Te Akau with its sixth victory in the Group 2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) and 11th win in the Group 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m).

Owned by the Fortuna Lara Antipova Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), Lara Antipova was purchased for A$100,000 by Sir David Ellis and Fortuna Racing from the draft of Vinery Stud at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“Her combined winning margins was about 19 lengths, so she was pretty dominant and a lovely horse to own,” Galvin said.

“I want to acknowledge Mark and Sam for their training and handling of her, and Sir David Ellis for the purchase. David and I have been buying horses together since 2003, and Mark has been training them since then, too.

“I’ve lost track of how many, but Lara Antipova is another in a long list of successful horses.

“They’re a great training team and the riders that rode Lara last season, Craig Grylls, Opie Bosson, and Mick Dee, are all very talented, and we’re very grateful to all the team at the stables that also worked with her.

“Also, my wife, Jessica, who helps me with all the administration that we do with Fortuna Racing.”

A Record Built Over Time

The latest honours add to an extraordinary record at New Zealand's premier thoroughbred awards.

Te Akau has now won 85 titles at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards, including 25 equine awards and 24 awards for people in the past nine years.

While the numbers tell one part of the story, each award reflects the contribution of many - the owners who place their faith in the stable, the horses themselves, the trainers, jockeys, team and the wider team working behind the scenes every day.

The 2025–26 awards provided another proud opportunity to celebrate that collective effort — and to recognise an unbeaten Champion Two-Year-Old and a training partnership that continues to set an exceptional standard.