Te Akau Friday Update - Celebration & Anticipation
1 August, 2025
David writes:
Firstly, a very happy birthday to all our horses who officially turn a year older today! It’s a special day on the racing calendar, a reminder of the exciting times that lie ahead for each of them as they continue to mature and progress through their careers.
Karyn and I have just returned from our annual holiday - and what a trip it turned out to be! We were in Honolulu and our last night was one of the scariest experiences I have ever had. At 4 p.m. a loud emergency siren blared across island, and everyone's phones were sounding urgent alerts too.
The warning was stark: at 7.10pm a tsunami was predicted to hit Honolulu. Within minutes, businesses were closing their doors, sending staff home to their homes and families and the while city was gridlocked with traffic as people headed home or to higher ground.
When I went down to the hotel reception to ask for advice, the manager asked what floor we were staying on and I told him the ninth. His reply was both reassuring and alarming: “That’s lucky - we believe anything above the sixth floor will be safe.”
Karyn had been across town, and was unable to get a taxi or uber, so she arrived back at the hotel an hour later on foot - about two hours before the tsunami was supposed to hit. The hotel closed all facilities and provided juice, water, potato chips and ham and cheese sandwiches - and told us to stay in our rooms and not to leave under any circumstances. They also came and gave us emergency lighting as the entire complex was shutting down all power before the deadline. It was clear they were expecting something serious.
Thankfully, it proved to be a false alarm, but it certainly was a night to remember. The whole alert and procedures ran like clockwork - all credit to the various authorities. It is always better to be safe than sorry!
Despite the final night drama, it was a wonderful break, and now it’s great to be home, back at work, and reflecting on what has been a truly remarkable season for Te Akau Racing.
Congratulations to our outstanding trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, and to every member of our incredible team. Together they secured the New Zealand Trainers’ Premiership - Te Akau’s 12th title - and delivered a season packed with highlights.
We achieved something truly special this year: winning both Karaka Millions' races, claiming the inaugural NZB Kiwi slot race (now the richest three-year-old race in the Southern Hemisphere), on the same day we won the Group 1 Sistema Stakes.
Te Akau won more races, more Group/Listed races and more prize money for owners than any other stable - $9.27 million in New Zealand alone. That's a new New Zealand record for any stable.
One of my other personal favourite days was at Riccarton, where we not only secured our seventh Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas victory but also saw Mehzebeen storm to victory in the 3200m New Zealand Cup. This was history in the making – no stable had ever achieved that double before.
Among the season’s stars was Damask Rose, a filly I purchased for $200,000 from Tony Rider of Milan Park. After running second in last year’s Karaka Million 2YO, she returned as a three-year-old to win the $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO and the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi on Champions Day at Ellerslie – New Zealand’s richest ever race day with $8.2 million in stakes on offer.
Also a special mention for our team's success 'at home' - on Matamata's premier race day last season, we won four races, three black type races including the Group 2 Matamata Breeders' Stakes with La Dorada and Group 3 Matamata Slipper with unbeaten colt Return to Conquer. Both went on to win Group 1 races in 2024/25, so they have a bright future ahead.
The success didn’t stop there. Mark Walker trained 26 winners in Australia, and across both countries our horses won 23 black-type races – 18 in New Zealand and five in Australia.
A huge congratulations goes to the entire team, including our exceptional Assistant Trainers Ben Gleeson, Reece Trumper and Hunter Durrant – three of the very best in the business.
Looking ahead, one of the next big events is the New Zealand Horse of the Year Awards on 7 September in Hamilton.
Te Akau has strong representation with La Dorada and Return to Conquer as the only two nominations for Champion Two-Year-Old of the Year; Captured by Love and Damask Rose both contest the Champion Three-Year-Old title; and Mehzebeen has been named in the Champion Stayer category.
Our training team of Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson will seek to defend their Champion Trainer of the Year award, being named in the final three again this year, while loyal owners Denise Bassett and John Elstob are gain finalists for Owner of the Year, a title they won last season.
It promises to be an exciting night.
While we were away, final shares in our horses continued to sell - in fact, there wasn’t a single day that passed without one being snapped up. The horses with shares available are showing terrific promise.
One that stands out is called One True King, a King’s Legacy gelding out of My Chicharita, purchased at the Ready to Run sale for $190,000. His stable name is Fergus and he is a striking looking individual as you can see below.
He has already trialled twice for a win and a second, and Sam Bergerson tells me he’s coming to hand beautifully. He is due to trial again on 26 August, and I have no doubt he’s a horse you’ll want to be involved with. I have a lot of faith in King’s Legacy as a sire - every one we have in the stable is showing talent.
We also have shares available in several other quality yearlings. One that has particularly impressed is an - and she is from a family that is really on the move. She was broken in by Benji King, he described her as the best filly he has ever broken in. While she may not be an early Karaka Millions 2YO type, she has all the makings of a Group 1 Sires’ Produce 2YO and could develop into a Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas filly next Spring. She has now been called Asturia and has the stable name of Grier.
At Te Akau Stud, winter has been testing. July delivered a record nine frosts, which bring beautiful clear days but halt grass growth until rain arrives. We recorded 182ml (just over 7 inches) of rain for the month, and while the grass is short, the warmer weather is not far away. We are applying fertiliser across the farm this week to give the pastures a boost.
Lambing is well underway, and here’s a photo of our first set of triplets for the season - it's always a joy to see new life on the farm and know that Spring is here.
We also have a busy week of trials ahead with horses lining up at Taupo on Monday, Te Rapa on Tuesday, and again at Te Rapa on Saturday. Karyn and I will be at the Te Rapa trials on Tuesday and we look forward to catching up with our owners there.
So as we farewell a magnificent 2024/25 season - here's to the coming 12 months! Thank you as always for your stellar support.
Have a great week – and as always GO THE TANGERINE