Te Akau Friday Update

David writes:

Normally at this time of the year, Karyn and I take our annual break in a warmer climate, preferably in Hawaii. 

This the first year that I have been at home for many years, so we are making the most of it and are doing things that we would not normally do. Mostly though we seem to be busy on the farm or in the office!

This week however, we travelled to Wellington for a night and took the opportunity to visit Parliament, where we were invited to see Clayton Mitchell MP give his valedictory speech. 

I decided to go early for question time and arrived at 1pm. I was fortunate to be shown around by Hon. David Bennett, who served as Minister for Racing under the previous government towards the end of its tenure . It was a fascinating experience to say the least. David took me into the Leader of the Opposition's office, where I caught up with the Hon. Judith Collins. 

The NZB Karaka Sale Complex is located in her electorate, and we often see her at the annual Karaka Sale. During the 2019 sale, Judith came and sat with me as I purchased the Savabeel/Make a Wish colt. I informed her that he is now named 'No Limits' and is having his first start in two weeks at Taupo - he has shown a lot of potential in training. 

I then went to the public gallery, and listened to question time, which was incredibly interesting. If anyone has the opportunity to visit Parliament, I would highly recommend it.  Karyn had been many times before as she previously worked for a Cabinet Minister many years ago but it was a first for me.

After question time and the third reading of a bill before the House, it was time for that session's scheduled valedictory speeches. Afterwards I had the opportunity to spend some time with our Minister for Racing, Rt. Hon. Winston Peters. 

He was in great health and form and it was good to have the opportunity to congratulate him on the job he has done in getting the Racing Amendment Bill through Parliament. I also thanked him for saving the racing industry by giving our community $72 million to help with racing's recovery from the effects of Covid-19, which brought the industry to a standstill.

When you think about it, he is one of the few Ministers that truly understands the contribution that the racing industry makes to the economy. He also understands the hundreds of millions of dollars that our industry pays every year - in GST, PAYE, Duty and ACC - the list goes on and on.

After our time in Parliament, we went Boulcott Street Bistro, which is owned by John Lawrence. In our opinion, this is the best restaurant in Wellington. John is also a Te Akau owner, and has a share in the very talented Prise De Fer. John was saying that he is very excited, just as much as we are, for Prise De Fer's upcoming season. He really does have an exciting time ahead of him, he just keeps improving with age this horse!

We have just about finished breaking in all the yearlings. We only have five left to go and they are all in the process of being ridden around the farm and should be making their way over to the stable in the next couple of weeks. 

I would say, without any fear of contradiction, that this is the best group of yearlings that we have ever broken in at Te Akau Stud. Our team here, under the guidance of Equine Manager and Head Breaker, Enzo Di Leoni, has done an amazing job, handling and riding these young horses. 

It is such an important part of a young horse's career, and it is extremely important that they enjoy the experience. 

One sire that I am predicting to be a huge success is Xtravagant. We have seven horses by Xtravagant in the stable, and from what I have seen so far, I believe he is going to be a very exciting stallion.

He stands at Newhaven Park, in the southern part of New South Wales. It is a magnificent property of 10,000 acres and the Xtravagant progeny that we have broken in have really impressed us, and after talking to other trainers in Australia who also have them, the word on the street is ‘look out.'

We are lucky that we have had really good grass growth in July, and that there haven't been too many frosts for this time of the year. We have had plenty of rain, and most afternoons it has been reaching 16 or 17 degrees. 

The 5YO ewes are well into their lambing now, with more twins being born than singles. The mixed aged ewes are due to start lambing next week. 

We are only five weeks away from the start of spring, and that signals even more grass growth, the start of tracks in better condition as well as the Hawkes Bay Carnival, which I am really looking forward to. 

Have a great weekend everyone, good luck to our Kiwi and Singapore runners this weekend.

GO THE TANGERINE!

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