Te Akau (AUS) Owner of the Month

Spotlight time again for another very important Te Akau owner - Gus Weston from Sydney!

I was born and raised in Wollongong (part of the Illawarra), which is about 90 minutes south of Sydney. I've lived in “the gong” all my life apart from a wonderful stint in NZ which I'll talk about later.

For as long as I can remember I've been into sport. I've always surfed (live on the beach now), and played tennis, squash, hockey, touch football, golf, paddled K1 kayaks and surf skis, and done heaps of ocean swimming. I still love to stay fit and active, and I love the water (which drives the kids crazy sometimes). Growing up, my favourite family holiday was a drive to Lightning Ridge in Western NSW which was great fun. Now the kids and I love camping, and we go back to the Whitsundays every few years.

My Grandfather was born and raised in Cambridge, so I feel a special affinity with the Waikato. Also, in 2006 I accepted a two year transfer to work at NZ Steel, and the family and I shifted and lived in Takanini. (My third daughter was born when we lived there … her name is Nini). Moving to NZ was one of the highlights of my life.

I absolutely love going back to NZ every year to catch up with friends and watch the Wallabies go around at Eden Park (I know, I'm a glutton for punishment). Apart from that, I loved the UK, and worked in London for a while, and have been to The Open at St Andrews in 2005 which was awesome. I have two adopted daughters who are Taiwanese, so Taiwan has a special place in our hearts also.

My dad has always been into racing. When I was 10 he took me to Randwick to see Kingston Town win the Sydney Cup. My passion was really ignited in my late teens when I started going to the races with friends from work.

Every year, for the past 15 years, my Dad and I go to the Easter yearling sales. Last year, I loved an O'Reilly colt out of a Zabeel mare (lot 145) offered by Rich Hill Stud. David, Karyn and Jamie bought the horse and were sitting in the seats behind me. I took a share on the spot and the whole experience with Te Akau from that day on has been amazing (main pic).

I have a share in Royal O'Reilly (Sydney) and have also just taken a share in a Savabeel filly out of Gold Rocks, which David purchased at the Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale this year.

You get such great information about not only your horses but the stable in general. The updates are a great read, and the whole experience has just been so welcoming (my girls now also love the colour Tangerine). I can't wait to visit.

I love the lush tracks, and Ellerslie is a wonderful place. I also love when the NZ three year olds come to Oz and contest the Guineas, Oaks and Derbies. Living in Sydney I watch NZ racing from afar, but there seems like there are way too many tracks for starters. Also in winter racing gets washed out a lot, which is no good for owners who just want to see their horses go around, have some fun with like minded people, and then hopefully reinvest.

I live in a beautiful sleepy little beach suburb called Windang - surrounded by water (beaches and lakes). After 27 years I have just finished in corporate life, and am back at Wollonging University doing a Masters of Teaching and loving it.

Growing up we had a little foxy terrier called Rex and I owned a Budgie called Boppa who I taught to free wheel about the house. Now the kids have a cat called Brooklyn.

I'm not much into fiction. I really love a great Sporting Autobiography, or I read quite a bit of Psychology and wellness books, and I have a fascination with American Politics. My favourite read at the moment is “Where Champions are Born”, about the most influential stud farms in NZ.

I love to eat nice food, so it's really hard to settle on a single restaurant. There's a quaint little Mexican place near home called Amigo's which is really good. In Sydney, we'll often head to Newtown, and friends and I have a regular booking at Taiko in Kingsland before each Bledisloe at Eden Park, which is awesome (although the locals can get a little lively when they see the Wallabies jumper).