Te Akau Midweek Update
3 November, 2021
David writes:
What a great result for New Zealand in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup!
It was exciting to see a victorious New Zealand bred horse winning - raised by a top farm, part owned by New Zealanders, ridden by an ex-pat Kiwi, and prepared by an ex-pat trainer. It's the race that everyone wants to win, and for James McDonald it certainly is a dream come true.
At 29 years of age, James still has so many career years ahead of him - and his accomplishments so far are re-writing all sorts of records. He thoroughly deserves to be a Hall of Fame'r and you know, I think some of his best years may still be ahead of him. Every New Zealander should be really proud of what he has achieved.
We could not be more proud of James who of course was formerly Te Akau Racing's stable rider when he was in New Zealand (above riding at the trials for us). He still often 'puts the tangerine on', a recent example being his brilliant win aboard Entriviere in the A$200,000 Group 2 Coolmore Sheraco Stakes in Sydney. We remain very close friends and Karyn and I are just thrilled for James and also his partner Katelyn Mallyon, herself an accomplished rider and media personality.
I enjoyed watching the race on Trackside, I have been to Flemington on may occasions, not missing Cup Day for over 30 years. However with the advent of the pandemic, that has all changed. We are so lucky we have such good television coverage.
We were also very impressed with the interactive app that the VRC made available - it was unbelievably innovative. We spent time accessing different areas of the racecourse, watching from different camera angles etc - in the days of COVID and limited crowds, this was genius - well done to the Flemington team for making this so accessible.
I have been back on the road over the past week inspecting Ready to Run horses. I have almost seen them all now, both at the Te Rapa breeze ups as well as private parades. My catalogue is certainly well worn and the iPad well used, as I review the on-line breeze ups many times.
I have seen some really impressive two year olds during my inspections, and we will be buying them for sure. The sale is not too far away now so if you are keen to be involved in the next multiple Group 1 winner like Gingernuts or Te Akau Shark who I bought from this sale, please drop Karyn a note and we will keep you well updated with the opportunities available - [email protected]
It was a relatively quiet weekend for Te Akau in New Zealand last weekend but that's about to change with Cup Week action just around the corner. Te Akau will be represented in almost every feature race at Riccarton. Savabeel colt Noverre is currently the favourite for Saturday's Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas. We have won this iconic race six times previously, and Noverre and I Wish I Win haven't missed a beat in the lead up to the big race.
Te Akau has also won the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas five times and we look forward to having five or six fillies stepping out on Saturday week. We are very proud of our record in these races - it's a testament to the very hard work by our team.
Our Assistant Trainer Sam Bergerson has been in Christchurch for a number of weeks now, overseeing the team and he, Lydia Truesdale and the southern team have done a fantastic job for us and our owners.
Te Akau Singapore trainer Mark Walker registered another two wins on Saturday - that keeps him eight wins ahead on the Trainers' Premiership with the Singapore season concluding this month. Te Akau also currently leads the New Zealand Trainers' Premiership too, with 26 wins so far this season. We have won double the prize money of almost any stable, and twice the number of Group/Listed races.
We are hugely proud that Te Akau looks set once again to achieve a remarkable feat of winning two Trainers' Premierships in two different countries in the same season. It takes a team - our horses, our owners, our staff at the stables and the farm, and our professional partners eg vets, farriers etc. This is a very special team and these results are all down to that successful combination.
It's been an incredibly frustrating Spring for everyone in racing - trying to prepare the horses we need good tracks and less bad weather. BUT it's a brilliant Spring for the farmers with terrific grass growth in the last two weeks.
Our first load of steers averaged 408kgs meaning they were worth a record $2,736 for Te Akau Stud and that was a big thrill for everyone here at the farm. Yesterday we sent some dry ewes away and even the aged ewes will make about $200. It's helpful at a time when all costs are rapidly soaring upwards that export prices are also encouraging too.
I'm back on the road now to continue my Ready to Run inspections - have a great week!