Te Akau Monday Update
17 February, 2025
David writes:
What an exciting day it was at the Matamata races on Saturday.
I was just so proud of everyone - our talented horses, our incredible owners and our hard working team - to achieve results like we did on Saturday - four wins, three at stakes' level including a Group 3 trifecta - is a result of everyone passionately giving their very best, and ensuring our horses are happy and well and ready to compete.
It’s really something that you dream about to be able to trifecta a Group 3 race - the Group 3 Fairview Matamata Slipper is a race we have now won 11 times - it's an important race for two year old colts and geldings and, as I have said, has been won by some outstanding racehorses: Darci Brahma, Heroic Valour, Sword of State ... and now Snitzel colt Return To Conquer has added his name to this impressive list.
Our Snitzel classy colt is now three starts for three wins, all at stakes' level. We were very proud of the efforts too by He Who Dares and To Bravery Born who made it a Te Akau trifecta ... and all three are by superstar sire Snitzel, and all bought by me in 2024.
I thought you might find the media release from Arrowfield Stud, where Snitzel stands, very interesting:
What may well be Te Akau Racing’s smartest strategy yet produced its best result – so far – when three of the 5 Snitzel colts purchased by David Ellis in 2024 filled the first three placings in Saturday’s NZ$150,000 Matamata Slipper 1200m G3.Hot favourite Return To Conquer made it three stakes victories from his first three starts but He Who Dares, winner of his only previous start, made him work hard for it, eventually taking second by 0.4 length, with two-time winner To Bravery Born in third spot.
Jockey Michael McNab said of Return To Conquer, “He is a star in the making as he has a great attitude and you can’t fault him as he has it all there.”
Modestly describing the Snitzel-&-stable trifecta as “a good effort all round”, co-trainer Mark Walker indicated that Return To Conquer & He Who Dares will most likely contest the $550,000 Sistema S. G1 at Ellerslie on 8 March.
A $1.3 million purchase from Blue Gum Farm at Magic Millions, Return To Conquer was bred by Mike Howard with Philip & Patti Campbell from Vaujany, an unraced daughter of Lonhro and dual Group winner Portillo, and full sister of Ghisoni (Surround S. G2), from the family of Group 1 winner Snowland.
The Snitzel/Lonhro cross echoes the success of Redoute’s Choice over mares by Sir Tristram & his sons, with 4 stakeswinners and three other stakes performers, including Group 1-placed Love Poem, from only 23 named foals to date.
Buyer David Ellis on the yearling Return To Conquer: “We thought he was the best Snitzel colt in the sale when we bought him. We could not fault him in any way.” (PHOTO: Magic Millions/Blue Gum Farm)
The two placegetters were both sourced from the Karaka Premier Sale: He Who Dares (ex Rondinella by Ocean Park) was an $825,000 purchase from Haunui Farm and To Bravery Born (ex Milunka by All Too Hard) was bought for $200,000 from Curraghmore’s draft.
Snitzel has lost none of his touch as a superlative sire of swift & classy juveniles. His 2022 crop has already posted 11 winners from 19 runners, including 5 stakes performers headed by Return To Conquer and Arrowfield graduate colt Blitzburg (ATC Canonbury S. G3).
Already a four-time Champion Sire of 2YOs in Australia, Snitzel is 2nd on the current New Zealand list, topped by Dundeel’s Arrowfield graduate son Super Seth.
Snitzel has also consolidated his second position on the Australian 3YO Sires’ Premiership, thanks to the scintillating return of Lady Shenandoah in Saturday’s ATC Light Fingers S. G2, and appears as damsire of the day’s Group performers Iowna Merc, Clear Thinking & To Cap It All.
Needing no further proof of Snitzel’s worth, David Ellis is sticking with his strategy in 2025, paying $625,000 for each of the colts out of Festivity & Toffee Tongue at Magic Millions, as well as NZ$400,000 for Trelawney Stud’s colt out of Zayydani at Karaka 1.
The Group 2 J Swap Matamata Breeders' Stakes is a race local trainers cherish, especially proud if they can win as the winning horse's colours are painted on the jockey statue in the birdcage and remaining there for 12 months until the next edition of the race.
Te Akau's tangerine was already there courtesy of Captured By Love's 2024 victory and Super Seth filly La Dorada ensured no new paint job was required as she became the first filly to win both the Karaka Millions' 2YO and the Group 2 Matamata Breeders' Stakes. Gee she is tough this filly, she certainly fought hard for her victory.
In winning, La Dorada becomes our 10th Matamata Breeders' Stakes' winner - and I must say how proud I was also to see Michael McNab ride both Return To Conquer and La Dorada so well - Michael and I have had a long friendship, and it meant a lot to me to see him win both features in the tangerine.
I did think that the effort by Born To Be Royal to finish third and earn valuable back type, was also particularly meritorious - especially as it was just her second start - thus giving her exciting young sire King's Legacy his first stakes' performer.
Her jockey got off and said I will almost guarantee that this will be your best three-year-old in the stable next year - if she hadn’t had reared when the gates open, he thinks she would have been very hard to beat. So it really was a great effort to finish third and a special mention too, to Marokopa Falls who finished fourth.
The exciting day continued as Balance of Power was impressive in winning and obviously has more in the future to come. He is an Almanzor four-year-old gelding that I bought from Cambridge Stud.
Speaking of Cambridge Stud, to cap the day, how good to see What You Wish for back in the winners' circle after so much bad luck in recent racing - his victory in the Listed Kaimai Stakes was really very deserved!
By Embellish, I bought this gelding for $60,000 at Karaka and I know how thrilled his owners are, they have been very patient, and we just find the stock of Embellish just keep getting better and better as they mature. Karyn and I have send a number of mares to Embellish and have some lovely types at the farm.
I would like to congratulate Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson and our whole team, stable and stud! What a wonderful job they are doing training and preparing our horses. That was the eleventh Black Type win for the season already and there is more to come – that’s for certain!
But as I say, it's not just about Sam and Mark, we have a wonderful team working with them headed by Assistant Trainer Nicole Shailer who is just incredible with the job that she does and is very much appreciated by Karyn and me. Hunter Durrant, our other Assistant Trainer who runs our Riccarton base, and our racing manager Reece Trumper who is also doing a wonderful job for us - yes our young talent certainly abounds, how blessed we are!
We have got another young man who has started working for us called Michael Gray. Michael has been working for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing as a handicapper but has decided to get more involved in the industry on a hands-on basis. Welcome to the team Michael and already, your contribution has been huge and you will hear a lot more from him as we go forward.
So to all the team members at every stable (and Lena our super star stable manager), thank you for the unbelievable job you are doing training our horses and you are all really appreciated.
A day like Saturday just doesn’t happen by fluke, it happens because all the ‘t’s are crossed and the ‘i’s are dotted and when you see the effort that goes into it behind the scenes starting at 3.30 in the morning you realise just how lucky we all are to be associated with Te Akau Racing.
It’s not just the team at the stables that are doing a great job, the team at Te Akau Stud is also doing a great job looking after all the yearlings that we have bought. So far we have bought 53 yearlings and they are just absolutely thriving and I couldn’t be happier with the outstanding quality I am privileged to see every day at the farm.
The farm is very dry at the moment and the Waikato is in drought, but it is February and in the next six weeks we will get some good rain. The cattle are really killing out well and we are sending another two units to GreenLea this week.
For the first time in my career, the price of cattle went up this week - normally that never happens in February, especially in drought conditions but the beef is selling really well overseas and the future for sheep and cattle farming is indeed very exciting.
We still have some shares in some stunning yearlings to sell. As I said we have bought 53 this year and I don’t think shares have ever sold quicker. Nowhere in the world, we are told, would owners have such quality to pick and choose from!
It's not too late to join the team so have a look on our website under 'Yearlings & Shares' and you will see that we have some shares left in some rippers – horses that I see running in the Karaka Millions this time next year, so please feel free to give me a call on 021 925 151.
We love hearing from our owners, or you can email Karyn at [email protected]
One of the things I enjoy most is welcoming new owners to our family, and also the privilege of having our existing owners reinvesting year after year. It certainly is an exciting time of year.
Best of luck to all our owners with runners this week!
