Te Akau Singapore Stable Flying - Another Kranji Double

Te Akau Singapore trainer Donna Logan recorded her ninth winner inside a month when Te Akau syndicated Stenmark and Our Secret Weapon scored on Saturday at Kranji racecourse.

Second on the Trainers' Premiership table and five behind leader Tim Fitzsimmons, Logan, who has trained since 2018 in Singapore, took up the role for Te Akau at the start of the season (1 January) when Mark Walker - Champion Trainer four times in Singapore - returned home to re-assume the helm at the Te Akau stables in Matamata.

Identified by Mark Walker and syndicated by Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM, last start winner Stenmark (4 g Medaglia d'Oro - Scandiva, by Fastnet Rock) was rated a top three chance by Logan in the $50,000 Class 4 1200 metres on turf.

Ridden by Champion Apprentice Hakim Kamaruddin (a1), Stenmark was again tardy to begin but in much the same manner as previously, he recovered quickly to land fifth on the inner and powered home with an unimpeded run to win impressively by nearly four lengths.

Stenmark paid $3.80 & $1.60 on the NZ TAB tote.

After winning on 21 May, Logan alluded to Stenmark overcoming some back issues which led to improved track work and now consecutive wins.

“He did it very easily, Stenmark,” Logan said. “I was going to give him 10 days off, but there's a $70,000 Class 3 1400 metres on 26 June and I don't think 1400m will be a problem.

“He can then have a break and we'll target races for him in August.”

Regarding improvement in his back, Logan said: “We have an in-house massage man, who is very good and does a lot of chiropractic work on our horses.

“We employ him. He worked for my team and now he's joined me at Te Akau. He works on every horse that's racing, as well as others that the jockeys say might feel a bit stiff.  He does wonders with them and we do acupuncture and all sorts of things. It definitely helping Stenmark and it's a bonus to have this man working with the team.”

Logan also mentioned some messages she received from owners.

“I had messages from Paddy O'Brien, Christel Jager, and Jessie King, who has shares in both winners and said ‘for the first time, you've given me two wins on the same day'.

“It's always great to hear from happy people.”

Later in the programme, Our Secret Weapon (4 g Outreach - Poppy's Pond, by Elvstroem) won the $30,000 Class 5 1000 metres on the poly-track, ridden by Fadzli Yusoff (a3).

Purchased by Ellis for $60,000 at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, specifically to race in Singapore, Our Secret Weapon negated the outside barrier (12) to cross into second and after drawing clear with the leader in the straight, he was too strong over the concluding stages.

Our Secret Weapon paid $10.40 & $3.60 on the NZ TAB tote.

“He'd shown that a win was close, but he flew off the outside gate and put himself right there,” Logan said.

“I was really happy with his lead-up runs and he obliged in showing more speed than I thought he could.

“Yusoff is apprenticed to us as well and he's a very capable three-kilo claimer.

“We've just been given a licence for Jamil Sarwi, who worked for Mark (Walker) originally, and we're excited he's received one of three new apprentice licences by the Jockey Club.

“He'll start in July, so with Hakim, Yusoff, Jerlyn (Seow), and Jamil, we'll have four apprentices for Te Akau.  They're all very dedicated and they ride them in work each day, so they know the horses really well.”

Logan recapped a celebratory week for Te Akau, both in NZ and Singapore, but also a week tinged with sadness.

“It was a different sort of week,” she said. “Mark trained three winners on Wednesday at Matamata which was great to see.

“He also had his 50^th birthday on Thursday, and we had a couple of winners up here on Saturday, but it was sad that my cousin Toby Autridge passed away.

“Thankfully, we were able to watch a live telecast link to the funeral on Friday at Matamata.”