Te Akau Monday Update

David writes:

What a busy week it was with the Ready to Run Sale last week - it would have to be the strongest sale I have ever been to at Karaka in recent times.

Te Akau Racing purchased five horses in total and they were sent straight back to Te Akau Stud to 'chill out' and relax after the demands of the sale.  They are all out in paddocks with the best grass you would see anywhere!

When young horses are popular, they have many inspections, are trotted up on numerous occasions and then they experience the noise and action of the selling arena. It is important in my mind to then allow them to move out of 'sale mode' and enjoy the green Te Akau grass before they head in to the stable in about two to three weeks.

The Lot numbers were purchased, for Te Akau owners and new owners to take shares in were:

Lot 75 - our Ace High filly

Lot 140 - our Ace High colt

Lot 148 - our Shocking filly

Lot 272 - our Vanbrugh gelding

We have never sold shares so quickly and the two fillies were snapped up before the weekend was out.  There are now shares only remaining in the two lads - and they come very highly recommended! 

We trained the mother of the Ace High colt and what a winning family he comes from - Group winners and performers such as Corsage, Aotea Lad and the gun filly of her time, Seamist - she was a Group 1 winner, Southern Filly of the Year and won 12 in her illustrious career.

Likewise you will see this is the family of another 12-time winner Torlesse, well known for his stirring victory in the Group 2 NZ Cup, along with two Group 3 titles.

Our Vanbrugh colt has so much of multiple Group winner Wild Night about him, and there are flashes of Te Akau Shark physique-wise about him too.  He's a showy chestnut from a well-performed international family. 

It's a family that includes Helenus, the Champion 3YO Colt in Australia who had five career wins, four in succession from 1600m - 2500m earning over A$2 million in prizemoney.  His victories included the Group 1 Victorian Derby, Group 1 Caulfield Guineas and Group 1 Rosehill Guineas.  He then went on to stand at stud.  

I cannot believe we still have shares available in him either - both of these boys were fantastic buying, real value for money.

So if you want to be involved in our very exciting industry, where there is so much good news arriving almost every week since Entain got involved, email Karyn now - you will have a lot of fun with them, and with us - [email protected]

It was wonderful to see Campionessa bounce back to winning Group form - gosh she was tough and bold in the $225,000 Group 2 Dunstan Feeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes WFA for fillies and mares over 1400m at Pukekohe on Saturday.

By Contributor, I bought this mare from the Magic Millions' June Sale for $60,000 from Mapperley Stud.  She has now won 8 of her 25 starts, only twice missing a top five placing - and has banked $577,215 for her proud ownership team.

Campionessa really came of age last season - she was a super 6th in the Group 1 Australian Cup just 2.2 lengths behind Cascading.  It was her first major test on the big stage, and she performed with so much credit.  Before heading across to Australia, she had fashioned a super season record:

September 2022 - winner on the Riccarton synthetic

October 2022 - 2nd North Canterbury Cup at Riccarton

October 2022 - 2nd Listed Spring Classic at Riccarton

November 2022 - winner Listed Metropolitan Trophy at Riccarton during Cup Week

January 2023 - winner Group 2 Rich Hill Mile at Te Rapa

January 2023 - 4th Group 3 Trentham Stakes at Trentham

February 2023 - 2nd Group 1 HS Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa to Sharp 'N' Smart (.5 length)

March 2023 - 2nd Group 1 Bonecrusher NZ Stakes at Pukekohe to Prowess (neck)

It will be very exciting to see what the remainder of the season holds for this now six year old mare. 

Our other horses contesting black type races on the weekend performed well too - exciting 2YO Bellatrix Star was runner up in the $110,000 Listed Counties Challenge Stakes. She now has earned valuable black type and all going well, is Karaka Million bound.

Brave Aromatic, who never gives up, was runner up in the $170,000 Group 3 Counties Cup, a race she won last season.  Had the rain arrived, the result could well have been different but we are so proud of her courage.

Aromatic would be one of the most consistent horses in the stable, if not the unluckiest - she has won six of her 32 starts and been runner up 13 times!! with five other minor placings - earning $419,300 in stakes.  I purchased the classy grey from the Karaka yearling sale and she is now a seven year old.

Campionessa and Aromatic show you our team doesn't just train fast two year olds. The longevity of both of these mares, and others such as 14-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle (who raced through until she was a 7YO), Prise De Fer who won the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes and was runner up in the Group 1 Zabeel Classic last season as a 7YO, and global star Imperatriz who is now a 5YO - these results show what a great job our team does keeping older horses fit and happy and competitive.

On Sunday I flew to Sydney with Marcus Corban and our racing manager Reece Trumper. We will be spending this week visiting various NSW stud farms in the Hunter Valley, inspecting yearlings that will head to the sales in 2024. 

I also visited this time last year and it was a very successful trip - so it's a full on, non-stop week, and already I have seen some beautiful young horses. Today we visited Mike and Kate Fleming's Bhima farm (famous for Imperatriz), as well as the Maloney family's Segenhoe Stud and Ridgmont farms. 

I ended the day with an absolute delight - meeting up with our recently sold Savabeel mare Synchronize (main picture) who was bought by Ridgmont Farm from Gavelhouse Plus -  she is in foal to the star sire I Am Invincible (same sire as Imperatriz).

So a busy week ahead, and I look forward to updating you when I return on the weekend.

Good luck to all our owners with runners this week and ... GO THE TANGERINE!!