Te Akau Monday Update

David writes:

The first thing I do when I get up each morning is look into the rain gauge and on Sunday morning I tipped out 21mls which is a great result.  It is unbelievably mild and still relatively warm as we head towards the end of May.  It has been a beautiful month for growing grass and the farm just looks sensational.

On Saturday after we watched all the racing, our attention turned to the rugby!  We saw two Super 15 games - the first between the Highlanders and the Crusaders was a terrific game.  The second game with the team that I follow, I thought was a bit disappointing with the Chiefs really being out of touch. I feel they are miles behind where they were this time last year.

On Saturday night we had eight people for dinner - including Karyn and me - we had my brother Rick, Mark Walker, Jamie Richards and two of our team in James (our breaker) and Amalie from Denmark who is working with James as well as my personal trainer Lisette.  Lisette's husband Tommy is a professional polo player who is In China at the moment competing there.

We enjoyed watching the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes where we saw Vilanova win.  I have been associated with winning this race on three different occasions.

I bought Vilanova from the draft of Haunui Farm at the Karaka Premier Sale.  A Commands gelding, he cost $150,000 and rewarded my confidence when winning the Listed Wentwood Grange Stakes at Te Rapa at just his second start as a juvenile.  This was his second Group victory in Australia - he is a really good horse who I think will start as one of the favourites in the Queensland Derby in two weeks.

A horse that I bred and raced - Distinctly Secret - also won this race as did a horse called Filante who was by Kaapstad out of Dresden Doll.  I bred him before selling him to Jack and Bob Ingham as a yearling and he was trained by John Hawkes.

When I reflect, it is just amazing the number of current very good 3YOs that I have bought as yearlings - War Affair after becoming Champion 2YO of Singapore is now the Champion 3YO.  I bought him out of Karaka for $70,000 and now he has won close to $1.5 million, his latest whitewash coming in track record time in the $500,000 Group 1 Singapore Guineas last weekend.

Then there is Chambord who looks like he could be anything this coming season and of course is a Group 1 placed 3YO son of the great Zabeel.

Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas' winner Costa Viva, who is the current reigning NZB Filly of the Year was bought by me for $100,000 on the Gold Coast.  Then there is Spellbinder who I bought for $60,000 and she has won two black type races and is also Group 1 placed.  Other Group performing 3YOs this season that I have bought include Aspen and Ruthless Lady. Vilanova joined this line up in Queensland on Saturday with his Group 2 Grand Prix effort and there are plenty of other good horses still to come out from that year's sale.

On Sunday I went for a 5.5km walk around the farm with Mark Walker and it gave us a good opportunity to strategise and talk about our plans for the next 12 months.

It was a big thrill on Friday night to win a really good race with Riedel - he was bred by me together with my youngest daughter Julia-Rose, John Rennie and his son Tim and long time client Dennis McNamara.  Dennis and John had a share in Te Akau Nick who ran second in the Melbourne Cup - he also won two Derby trials, the Chairman's Handicap, the St Leger and the Group 1 Metropolitan - all races in Sydney.  So this has been a very successful partnership and friendship over the years.

We bred Riedel as I say ourselves - by Saperavi, he is out of an Align mare called La Conga.  This family I bought about 20 years ago when I purchased a Grosvenor filly out of Street Dancer and named her Bonnie Busker.  Bonnie ran in the Sydney Cup but was best known as having won a race on Derby day at Ellerslie by seven lengths. La Conga is a full sister to Congaline who was a very promising horse that we raced a few years ago.  La Conga looks like she could be a really good broodmare as she leaves magnificent types and horses that all show ability.

Julia- Rose of course works in the marketing team at the Auckland Racing Club and I was thrilled to win an $80,000 race for her and with her.  The stake money now in Singapore is just amazing and hardly a race day goes by without Mark training a winner - in Riedel's race it was actually a stable quinella.

This week the Te Akau team (aka the boys' brigade - Ed) is off to Queensland for the sale and the races.  This week it is the broodmare and weanling sale and then the yearlings come up next week. We have had terrific success out of attending the June Gold Coast sale and we use the time to have team discussions and plan for the next 12 months - new ideas and thinking around how we even further enhance our performance across every part of our operation.  It is a really important time for the team to get together - even our vet Dr Doug Black comes across for part of the time.

The news from Brisbane is that our Assistant Trainer Pam Gerard is very happy with our girls Precious Time and Costa Viva who are both thriving in the warmer climes.  This weekend both line up at Eagle Farm.

Costa Viva's work has been of a very high standard and we are confident she will go a really good race this weekend against the boys in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas.  With Leith Innes requiring surgery, our replacement rider is Jim Byrne who knows Eagle Farm inside out.

Last Friday Karyn and I attended Lisa Chittick's funeral in Matamata - what a gut wrenching day it was.  To see the loss of someone who was only 44 years of age - and so much ahead of her, her husband Mark and Charlotte, George and Harry.

Each year Joe Walls and I stay at Waikato Stud as part of our yearling inspections and Lisa was one of the very best hosts you could ever come across - she was a brilliant chef and lit up every room she walked into.  She was an incredible soulmate to Mark and a fantastic mother - her legacy lives on in her three kiddies who are an absolute credit to her and Mark.

The celebration of Lisa's life at Waikato Stud was the largest we have ever attended and was beautifully done by Mark - I have known Lisa for over 30 years as she is the sister of my two great friends Lance and Paul O'Sullivan.  The eulogy was given by Hon Henry Plumptre who I have known well for some 35 years.  Henry is now the manager of Sheikh Mohammed's Australian operation.  It was one of the finest eulogies I have ever heard - poignant, funny, perfect.

So although it was such an incredibly sad day - it was a day that remembered a beautiful woman in the most wonderful way possible.

Yesterday aside from continuing to study the Gold Coast catalogue, I took time to review my broodmare matings for the coming season. I have been spending a lot of time working out what mares I will be sending to each stallion.  One stallion who I will be supporting with some 30 mares minimum is Burgundy (pictured below).  He has everything going for him as a successful stallion prospect - when you combine pedigree, performance and type - he has let down into a truly magnificent horse and of course has a faultless pedigree.  At $6000 plus GST he is unbelievable value.

We will also be sending over a dozen mares to Rock 'n' Pop and of course we always support Darci Brahma.  Isn't it terrible how quickly time flies by - to think we are coming up to the breeding season already!

Have a great week and please feel free to call me on the Gold Coast if you would like to be part of a yearling that I purchase - my number is 021 925 151.  It is always heartbreaking for Karyn and me to see so many people miss out on horses because they don't ring or email us quickly enough.  If you want to be part of a horse our Gold Coast team purchases, keep a close eye on our website - I welcome you to call me - or call the stud and talk to Karyn on 07 825 4701 or email her [email protected].