Te Akau Midweek Update

David writes:

What a great day of racing it was yesterday on both sides of the Tasman. It was fantastic to see such big, happy crowds at both Ellerslie and Flemington - the atmosphere looked electric for Australia's most iconic and historic raceday.

A huge congratulations to Tony McEvoy and his son Calvin, and to all the connections of the Melbourne Cup winner, Half Yours - an incredible result for a horse they only bought last year. Tony and Mark Walker go way back; Mark spent time working with Colin and David Hayes in Adelaide when Tony was there too, so it’s wonderful to see their success.

Speaking of Australia, Mark and our assistant trainer Ben Gleeson continued the stable's excellent run of form, training two winners on Friday and another two on Saturday in Victoria. On top of this, it was terrific to see Geegees Mistruth finish second in the Group 3 Mumm Rising Fast Stakes at Flemington on Saturday, Derby Day at Flemington.

These results are a real reflection of how hard the team is working across the Tasman - just like our hard working team in New Zealand too!

After the huge high of six winners the previous Saturday in New Zealand, last weekend and Cup Day didn’t bring us much luck, but that’s racing - and I can see it turning very soon, especially as the tracks are on the improve. We’ve got a lovely team ready to go over the next couple of weeks.

It’s been a very busy time on the farm, but the warm weather has been so welcome - the grass has really taken off, and everything is looking green and lush.

Yesterday we sold a unit of steers (40 head) that averaged 385kgs each, and we’ve got another 40 going today. As many of you know, we sell all our beef to Greenlea, a company I’ve had a long and proud association with. It's fantastic to deal with and is a company that sets the highest standards, as well as contributes significantly to the community.

I was especially proud to hear from the Greenlea team that the steers we sent yesterday were the best cattle it has ever killed in the company's long history - and our steers set a new record for the highest-priced animals Greenlea has ever processed. That’s something that means a great deal to me and to everyone at the farm.

On Monday we start shearing the ewes and lambs, and we’ve got some absolutely beautiful lambs heading to the processors. We sell all our sheep to Hellaby's in Auckland, and I’ve been sending my stock there since 1979 - a partnership that’s lasted over four decades.

Over the next three months, we’ll be selling around 400 lambs every three weeks, and it’s great to see both sheep and cattle prices at record levels. It’s a real credit to the hard-working team on the farm who take such pride in what they do.

This Saturday marks the start of the New Zealand Cup Carnival, and Karyn will be in Christchurch for both the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas and the 2000 Guineas. This year the Club has switched the dates, so the 1000 Guineas returns to the first Saturday. 

It’s always a special week for the team, and I know Karyn’s really looking forward to being back in her birth town to represent us all.

The doctors have told me I can start going back to the races and travelling in about two weeks’ time, which I’m absolutely thrilled about. I’ve missed being trackside and can’t wait to get back amongst it - seeing our horses, our owners, and all the people who make racing so special.

Best of luck to all our owners with runners over the next ten days in New Zealand and Australia, especially over NZ Cup Week - I’ll be cheering them home from the farm until I’m back there in person!

GO THE TANGERINE!