Te Akau Scores Big At Ellerslie

Michael Guerin, NZ Herald reports:

Two huge gambles paid the ultimate dividends for our premier stable on New Zealand’s richest ever raceday at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Matamata horsemen Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson won the first running of the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi as Damask Rose came from last with a miracle rails run courtesy of Australian jockey Blake Shinn.

That was enough to see the Karaka Millions winner hold out the brave favourite Evaporate with Checkmate a close-up third in front of stablemate Sought After.

It completed a mammoth double for the Te Akau trainers and Shinn having earlier won the $550,000 Sistema Stakes with Return To Conquer, making him an unbeaten Group 1-winning colt.

That alone and being by champion sire Snitzel makes Return To Conquer a very, very valuable young man.

While both horses went into their huge races on Saturday as last-start winners Walker and Bergerson had to roll the dice to gain an extra winning edge.

They chose not to start Damask Rose between her Karaka Millions win and the NZB Kiwi, a six-week gap which could have left them with egg on their faces had she peaked at the 100m.

But they nailed it, their filly best fresh and honed by a trial at Taup? last week. Natural talent and Shinn did the rest.

“She is a very good filly and to be honest I have been in Australia a lot in the last month so Sam, and the staff, have really done a wonderful job with her and deserve so much of the credit.” Damask Rose has shown talent right from when she started racing but she is a horse who has taken proper training, with little issues and timing see her trainers off and on the gas with her.

But there is something fitting about Te Akau, who have been such a constant source of investment, great horses and talented horse people throughout the last decade of New Zealand racing’s ups and downs, winning the new race that sums up the industry’s renaissance.

The daughter of Savabeel also has members of the TAB and Entain executive teams in her ownership syndicate so people who made yesterday actually happen got tangible if unintended reward.

As huge as the stake for the NZ Kiwi was the win of Return To Conquer in the Sistema could eventually be worth more as Te Akau try to be in the stallion-making business and there is no quicker way to turn a colt into a commercial entity than winning a Group 1 juvenile race.

Nobody doubts Return To Conquer’s ability but he is almost too relaxed, looking to wait for his opponents in his previous three wins but Walker and Bergerson held back applying the blinkers for this Group 1.

That also could have backfired, with blinkers first time often acting as a turbo button but they can also make horses over-race or even miss the kick.

They rolled the dice, Return To Conquer did the rest and probably earned himself the rest of the season off.

“He got the win we wanted and I think he is ready for a break,” says Walker, confirming our best juvenile won’t go to the Golden Slipper in Sydney in two weeks.

“I think if we look after him now he could be a very good colt next season.”

The stable’s huge day actually started with a blow as Karaka Million-winning juvenile filly La Dorada was found to have a temperature at 3.30am when Walker got to the stables and had to miss the Sistema.

“It was a tough way to start the day but it has ended up pretty good,” smiled Walker.

“And that comes down to a lot of hard work, starting with David and Karyn [Ellis] and running through everybody in the stable.” And also, thanks in no small way to two gambles, one set of blinkers and a moment of magic of Blake Shinn on our biggest ever racing stage.