Nothing Fazes Her

A four length Maiden winner, Unfazed (4 m Zabeel - Fazed, by Stravinsky) matched the margin in the $10,000 Rating 65 1400 metres on 22 February at Wairoa.

Unlucky on recent occasions, Unfazed was given a lovely ride by Alysha Collett to score by four lengths in the event sponsored by K9 Petfoods. Although awkwardly away, Collett soon had the mare trucking along in fourth and following a quick move to lead at the 400m she raced away to win as she liked.

“It was a really good win and Alysha got her into a great position. It was a beautiful ride,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis.

“It's fantastic for Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan and the owners that race this mare, because she was the last Zabeel ever born and the fact that Cambridge Stud chose Te Akau to train her really is an honour.”

Included amongst the ownership group (Jamie Tout, Matthew Bell, Bryce Lawrence, Glen Jackson, Mike Fraser, Alan Muir, and Mark & Chrissy de Lacy, and Vijay Vallabh) are some rugby referees, names familiar to those that follow Super Rugby.

“It was great to another win a race for them and they're all keen on racing. Jamie (Richards) labelled the horse as his bet of the day, so that was good too,” Ellis said.

Sir Patrick had previously said: “Marcus (Corban) suggested to the referees, when they came to visit Cambridge Stud, that they get together and race a filly with us and they said they'd like to do that, so that's how it started.

“I've had horses with Te Akau for years,” he said

“Racing horses is a great game and it's exceptionally exciting, but to add to that excitement, whether your horses are winning or losing, communication with owners and clients is absolutely imperative and I have to say that Te Akau, in my opinion, is better than anyone else at doing that.

“I think that communication with owners, whether you're winning or losing, is so important to keep interest and know that you are part of racing horses.

“As we know, not all horses win, not all horses are exciting, but it's always exciting to have a horse, no matter whether it's a good horse or an average horse. The excitement comes from the owner getting good communication about their horse and Te Akau is certainly the best. Communication is top of the list for me.”

Co-trainer Jamie Richards said: “She was certainly overdue another win. She'd been putting in good performances, after getting back from awkward starts, but Alysha got her into a gun spot and hopefully she can keep progressing,” Richards said.

“We love supporting these country meetings. It's a great atmosphere, especially with the Autridge crew, and Meg Lambert and Hannah Lowry who bought the horses down following the races last Sunday at Gisborne.”

Unfazed was strapped by Hannah Lowry.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz