Swing Note Aims for Te Akau's 11th Guineas

ANZ Bloodstock News reports:

Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis hopes to win his fifth New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday, but the prominent owner is already looking for his next racetrack star.

A week after winning the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) with high-priced colt Embellish (Savabeel), Ellis's Te Akau Racing has talented Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) filly Swing Note lining up in the fillies Group One feature at Riccarton on Saturday.

Swing Note, who was purchased by Ellis from the Turangga Farm draft at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $60,000, won her maiden at Riccarton on 7 October before running third last start in the Zacinto Stakes (Listed, 1600m) at the same track. Ridden by Sam Weatherley on that occasion, Swing Note settled worse than midfield and had to make a long run to finish third to Ever Loyal (Sebring), a Tony Pike-trained gelding who was third in Saturday's Two Thousand Guineas.  Swing Note is a daughter of SAJC Morphettville Guineas (Listed, 1600m) winner Andallthatjazz (Bianconi), with the filly the first stakes performer out of the mare.

Ellis told ANZ Bloodstock News that Swing Note, who raced four times as a two-year-old, was appreciating her time in the South Island this campaign where she has raced three times.

“She is a big improver and her work since her last race has gone up two or three levels and she'll be ridden by our stable jockey Opie Bosson in the Thousand Guineas,” Ellis said.

“She has been down in the South Island and is just thriving. She is out of a mare who won a Guineas herself in South Australia and I bought her for $60,000 on the Gold Coast.”

Ellis's Te Akau Racing will be attempting to win their 11th Guineas feature race at Riccarton with Swing Note. “Saturday was our tenth Guineas win at Riccarton, with four One Thousand Guineas and six Two Thousand Guineas wins,” he said.

“We had a fantastic day in New Zealand and went within a nose of training the trifecta in the Two Thousand Guineas and we ran second and third in the Metropolitan Handicap. Beyond Saturday's Classic, Ellis's focus is on next week's New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs at Karaka, the same juvenile sale where he purchased triple Group One winner Gingernuts (Iffraaj) and Levin Classic (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Hall Of Fame (Savabeel).

Gingernuts was one of the favourites for Saturday's Emirates Stakes (registered as LKS Mackinnon Stakes) (Gr 1,2000m) at Flemington, but fractured a pastern while cantering to the barriers. The four-year-old gelding had four screws inserted to his fractured pastern at the Melbourne University Equine Centre at Werribee (on Monday) to aid his recovery.

“It was certainly very sad what happened to Gingernuts. He is a beautiful horse and everyone that has anything to do with him can't help but fall in love with him. These things happen in racing,” he said.

Ellis said the catalogue assembled for this year's NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs promised to be the best group of horses offered in recent years. There will be 385 two-year-olds on offer at next week's sale, to be held at Karaka on 22 and 23 November, including progeny by Embellish's sire Savabeel (Zabeel) (five lots), Iffraaj (Zafonic) and seven two-year-olds from the final crop of O'Reilly (Last Tycoon). The half-brother to recent Wakeful Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) winner Luvaluva (Mastercraftsman), who was purchased at last year's sale for NZ$55,000, will be offered by Surrey Farm. Catalogued as Lot 424, the Per Incanto (Street Cry) colt breezed up in 11.55 seconds on 16 October. Two breeze up sessions were conducted at Te Rapa, on 16 and 17 October.

“It is a different sale all together. We tend not to buy horses who have worked up the best. We tend to buy horses who we think we can improve. This is a very, very strong sale this year and there will be some top horses who come out of it for certain,” Ellis said.

“It is strong catalogue in terms of pedigrees, but more so the sale a lot of good types. Looking at the breeze ups, it is probably going to be the best sale from a ready to run point of view that we have had.” Ellis said he, trainer Mark Walker and Te Akau Racing's New Zealand-based co-trainer Jamie Richards work together to identify potential two-year-olds that would suit their requirements.

“Mark Walker, who is the champion trainer in Singapore, Jamie Richards and I look at all the horses together and we all know what we are after as we have been doing it for quite some time together,” he said.

“The reality is that the successful horses that have come out of this sale are better than what has come out of any other ready to run type of sale in the Southern Hemisphere and by quite a margin. It is a big catalogue and I think there will be some great buying. You can come to this sale and buy a horse who is only three or four months away from going to the races and the vendors have realistic reserves.”