Te Akau Friday Update

Date: 10 Aug 2018

Te Akau Friday Update
David writes:

Gee it has been all go since we have arrived home from our annual holiday. It is naturally great to be home but it was also wonderful to have some time off from our busy schedule.

The whole team had done a magnificent job too - everything looks a picture (for this time of the year)!

We are only three weeks from the start of Spring and the days are getting longer and the grass is starting to grow a little.  We are about 90% through lambing and the weather for lambing just could not be better.

When it comes to the New Zealand stable - we are all really looking forward to Te Teko trials on Monday where Jamie has a big team ready to trial.  It will be all hands on deck as we will have 56 horses trialling.  We are eager to see our horses step out on Monday, after the original trial day was called off last Tuesday due to the weather and track concerns.

We are also looking forward to the NZTR Horse of the Year Awards evening in two weeks. We have six finalists across the 2YO, 3YO, Sprinter/Miler and Trainer of the Year categories - I am really proud that each of our five equine finalists was purchased by me

In the two year old category we have two finalists. Avantage and Sword of Osman.  These were the last two horses to sell in their year.  It is just amazing how they were the last two to sell as yearlings.  I can see the same thing happening this year with the two Pierro fillies and a Redoute's Choice filly each having one share left.

The Pierro filly out of the Bulle de Champagne and the Redoute's Choice filly are both spelling after being fully educated - the Pierro filly out of the Missy Cummings is getting ready to trial towards the end of the month and I am predicting she could be top class - a great pedigree and a pretty smart galloper - remember I have been promoting her on this site for the last three months.

Our stable jockey Opie Bosson has been at the Matamata track three times this week - a sure sign the team is getting close to the action.

We have two runners at Ruakaka on Sunday.  Paul Richards is taking the team up to Ruakaka and he will have a very competent helper in none other than Libby Richards.  Libby is Jamie's younger sister and works for the ANZ Bank in Auckland but like all of the Richards' family, she is a top horsewoman in her own right.

Our team of horses is coming to hand really well at Matamata but we won't have many to race until September due to the tracks - however I am extremely excited about the talent we have to race this season.

In Singapore, Mark Walker is having another top season, lying third currently on the Trainers' Premiership.  Mark won five New Zealand Premierships before heading to Singapore in 2010 to establish our stable at Kranji, where he has been named Champion Trainer in both 2015 and 2017.

Have a great weekend go the Tangerine!
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