Te Akau Midweek Update

David writes:

Have you ever not done something, then wake up in the middle of the night cursing yourself?

I went to the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka last week with the intention of buying two or three horses and came home with eight!

When I bought the last one, my team said NO MORE!! But for the last five nights, I just couldn't sleep properly, because I knew I didn't bring home a filly that I absolutely fell in love with the moment I saw her. I was so disappointed that I didn't buy her.

However, something quite amazing happened. Not only had Karyn sold every share in every horse that we had purchased within four days, I was also able to buy my filly.

Lot 393, a Savabeel filly out of Cape Mapperley, was passed in with a $200,000 reserve. Yesterday, I purchased this dream filly for $180,000 - Now I am a very happy man!

This filly is out of a half sister to the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas winner Magic Cape. I love buying first foals and this Savabeel filly is the first foal out of a winning Thorn Park mare. If you have ever been in my office at the Stud, you will know that I have most of my Group One runners on the wall, and there are plenty of Savabeel's there. He is one of my favourite sires.

This filly was also ridden by a former Te Akau apprentice, Sam Collett, in the breeze up. Sam is one of the best judges in the business, and she told me this filly gave her an awesome feel.

Now if that isn't enough to sell you on this filly, you need to take a look at her type. You will see a stunning filly, with a great shoulder and everything in the right place. She was bred and reared by Mapperley Stud, in my opinion one of the best nurseries in the business.

I have no doubt that this filly is going to sell quickly. If you would like to be involved, I suggest contacting Karyn now to save the disappointment of missing out on an opportunity like this.

STOP PRESS

ONLY 10% REMAINS IN THIS FILLY SO BE QUICK!

I would like to thank all those who have invested in a share in our Ready to Run horses. They are all at Te Akau Stud now, and I am so pleased with them all. To be able to train horses of this quality is a dream come true for a young trainer like Jamie.

What an amazing week it has been for all the farmers in New Zealand. Receiving rain at this time of the year is like striking gold. The farm just looks amazing and we have plenty of grass everywhere.

Tomorrow we are drafting all our breeding ewes and culling the sheep that aren't thriving. By doing this, we will end up with a quality line of five year old ewes to sell.

Today, Jamie is travelling out to Te Akau Stud and we are going to inspect every horse that we have spelling. We have about 75 horses to inspect, and most of these are young horses that just need a bit of time. I am predicting a big Autumn for the stable.

Our North Island owners' function was a huge success, with about 140 people in attendance. It was fantastic to catch up with so many of our owners, and we paraded Melody Belle and the Savabeel/Millililli colt that we purchased from the Ready to Run sale. A big thank you to all our owners who travelled to Matamata to come and support us.