Te Akau Owners of the Month

We are delighted this month to introduce John & Judith Angell who have an ownership share in Appellation (2 g Pentire - Tattinger, by Centaine).

Where were you born and raised?

John: I'm a Waikato guy and Matamata was my home for the first twenty years. I did a science degree at Waikato University, then accounting at Massey and after Judith and I got married we have spent the past thirty years in Taranaki. I was a teacher for a few years in Matamata and taught Shane Dye. He was excellent at sport - a great tennis player and runner.
Judith: I was born in Tauranga and met John at Matamata College.

What were your early sporting pursuits and favourite family holiday memories?

Judith: I was hockey player and my father Cliff Mountier had broodmares and racehorses, so we generally went to the trials and the races when we were growing up on the farm. We didn't have many holidays but John and I used to take our children to Te Puna beach. And I love rugby.
John: I've been a runner and Jude and I still run. I've done three marathons; Rotorua a couple of times and the Hamilton one. We took the kids to Europe for six months when they finished primary school, and after racing our other passion is to travel. We spent a year away, five years ago, travelling around Europe and America. We've been racing at Cheltenham, Newmarket, Kentucky and been to Flemington and Randwick and we just love the atmosphere of racing.

Do you feel a special affinity with any particular place in New Zealand?

Judith: We said we would come to Taranaki for two years and we're still here thirty years later, so there's something about it.

What country have you enjoyed visiting the most?

Judith: Portugal. The people are amazing, the way they treated us and welcomed us and although really poor they were such good people.
John: England and France, and we both enjoyed Canada. We always try to do our own thing in our travels. We hire a car and try to get out to the back of beyond, where people don't necessarily speak too much English and you get some lovely smiles.

When were you first introduced to horses and racing?

Judith: I can remember when I was five, Dad had a broodmare, Trench Lady (Trench Flight), and she was the mother of Destino who won the Wellington Steeplechase in 1973 and it was the first time over the figure eight course.
John: Judy introduced me to racing and it was fatal. She took me to the races one day, the third time we went out, and I could not back a loser.

How were you introduced to owning a horse with Te Akau?

Judith: With my sister, Patricia Hale, we were keen to be part of a syndicate and we always read the Te Akau website and you can't help but noticing them on TV. We looked at Jason's strike rate and thought how can we do better than that? I also worked with Mark Walker's uncle Alex McQuaid for quite a few years at New Plymouth Girls' High School.
John: We had a bit of a connection because Matt (Cameron) had ridden a winner for us before, so we always looked out for him. But the record of Jason (Bridgman) and the team is so good. We have found the Te Akau team to be genuine, straight up and it's been a thrill to be involved. We saw when David (Ellis) bought Appellation and we watched the tv adverts and have always known about Centaine mares and favour proven stallions. So, the combination was good and we saw his three-quarter brother Rangirangdoo (Pentire) run in Sydney and he was obviously an amazing horse. It's a lot about luck but you can also narrow your luck down if you go with good breeding.

What do you like most about owning horses with Te Akau?

Judith: I think the fact that you feel involved in what is happening and that's the most important thing.
John: Also, just the friendliness and approachability of every person on staff that we've dealt with. We spent a delightful couple of hours with David at the stud and Jason, Pam, Tommy are all really good to talk to. We're both stewards at the racing club and I'm on the board at the Taranaki Racing Club and the Te Akau staff that have come here are really proud to be a part of the stable and they really are a credit to the team.

What do you love about horse racing in New Zealand, and what do you see as the most valuable improvement for the future?

Judith: I love being able to be near the horses. Ellerslie for example, going out the back to see them before the race and you can be nearer to them in New Zealand than some places overseas. We celebrated my sixtieth birthday at Silks Restaurant at Ellerslie. With two of our daughters living in Auckland, a lunch at the races appealed to me more than a party at night.
John: It's very hard to know what the future holds, as we're only a small country and we don't have the government involvement that Australia does. And we don't have the population of Australia or Britain. So, there is no easy solution and there are real challenges for the clubs to gain income outside of racing. Adding functions centres and selling the corporate occasion, as the proportion of income the club gets from actual racing is smaller now and to generate any extra stakes really takes a big effort from the club. I'm involved with the finances; that's why I'm on the board, as an accountant. We (Taranaki Racing Club) are fortunate because we have practically no debt, but we are endeavouring to make our facilities as good as anywhere, and topping up the stakes, and we are contributing quite a bit in addition to what we are given by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. But, that said, we are in racing ownership not for the money but rather the thrill.

Where do you live and what do you do?

Judith: We live in town, New Plymouth, and I work three days a week at a little convent school at Waitara, St Josephs, in charge of admin.
John: I sold my accounting firm about six years ago and now work as an accountant three or four days a week for another accounting firm - plenty of time racing.

What has been your favourite pet?

Judith: We used to have a Burmese cat called Peaches and if anyone visited she thought they had come to see her. She was an amazing animal and ruled the roost.

What is your favourite subject of reading?

Judith: I like mystery books.
John: I enjoy travel books and we buy all the racing biographies, the latest being A P McCoy.

What is the restaurant you like the most?

John: We had an amazing experience about three months ago in Melbourne; we went to Attica, with Head Chef Ben Shewry being from North Taranaki and it would be the best restaurant we've ever been to. Jude is a very good cook, so we do well on the dining side of things.