Te Akau Monday Update

David writes:

The weekend was a real thrill for Karyn and me - watching the races from Singapore last night we couldn't stop smiling - what an incredible night for Mark Walker - he is unstoppable at the moment.

It started on Friday of course with a top performance by Clutha Lad.  He has really hit top gear after having a long lay off and it is an absolute credit to Mark and the team the way this horse has returned to this type of racing form.

I bought Clutha Lad - a son of Thorn Park and Maggie's Farm - out of the Karaka Select sale for $36,000.  His win on Friday took his Singapore stakes to $196,436 - he would have to be a Group 1 or Group 2 horse to win that level of stake in New Zealand which goes to again show just how lucrative it is to race in Singapore.

On Sunday it was a winning trio for Mark - with Chase winning, then Dane's Anatomy claiming the very next race and eventually after a heavy rain delay, we were able to cheer Clermont Club home.

Chase is a Nicconi horse that I bought out of the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka - as I also did Clermont Club.  He is owned locally and is showing plenty of early promise now having raced five times for two wins and a minor placing.  After hitting his 100th career win on Friday aboard Clutha Lad, our apprentice Shafiq was out to continue that form and delivered a very smart tactical ride to snatch the narrowest of wins - coming from last as they turned, being held up and finally claiming the victory right on the line in a nail biting finish.

Dane's Anatomy is a horse I purchased from the Karaka Premier Sale - he is part of a syndicate that also includes King's Rock, the stakes' winning Wolfwhistle and Group 1 placed Aspen who is on target for a tilt at the Group 1 Singapore Derby in July.  It was great to see him break his maiden duck at start eight in the Maiden 1200m on the polytrack.  Driven to the lead by experienced Australian jockey Craig Newitt, he never handed it up and was brave in scoring an all the way victory.

A couple of races later, the heavy rain storms drifted in and torrential rain delayed the race meeting.  The good news for Te Akau was that after a delay of over an hour, the meeting got underway again and Clermont Club was guided again by our apprentice Shafiq on the polytrack to the 5YOs fourth win in Singapore.  He is a horse that has taken time to mature and we are really seeing the best from him now as his stakes pass the $130,000 mark.  Stablemate Prince Mag also rallied well for third in the same event.

Another thrill for me was to see Fine Choice race so promisingly in the $90,000 2YO feature.  He was drawn wide and if you look at the run of the winner - who had the rails' benefit all the way from his inside draw - I am confident if you changed the draw you would have changed the result.  Despite having the services of gun rider Corey Brown, the draw saw the Coat's Choice gelding stuck wide for much of the race which makes his finish even more meritorious.

Fine Choice was selected by our Racing Manager Jamie Richards from the South Island sale and looks to have it all ahead of him.  A $21,000 purchase, he earned $17,000 last night and interestingly enough, in the race sponsored by Inglis the Australian sales company the first two home were by Coats' Choice, the Canterbury based stallion - quite a result for the Berkley Stud team!

So it has been a terrific weekend for the Te Akau Singapore team - Mark has now won 28 races and remains a clear cut leader on the Singapore Trainers' Premiership table.

Te Akau Singapore stakes' earnings continue to rocket with $1,286,979 being the tally after last night's racing - and that achieved in only 11 weeks of the new season.