Te Akau Thursday Update

David writes:

When I write updates for our website, I normally talk in to the dictaphone and my bride then types it up and posts it on the website.

So this morning I am talking to you while watching the horses in training at the farm. One of the fillies we are training at the moment is a filly called Frock - a Road to Rock filly out ot Mya.  She has really strengthened up and the really good thing about these horses is that even though some of them don't mature as 2YO's they certainly do that as 3YO's.

At this time of the year with green grass we have at the farm, it is particularly obvious how well the horses are doing.  Today Jamie Richards is at the farm and we are going to inspect all the horses who are spelling and then I will make a shortlist of the horses who are ready to head back into the stable.

We have six yearlings that we are stabling here for the January yearling sales at Karaka - we have an O'Reilly colt and five Darci Brahma yearlings.

This week we also have Karyn's Mum Sylvia staying with us - she is up from the South Island - just north of Timaru - and we are enjoying catching up on all her news.  Karyn is an only child and doesn't get to see her Mum very often so it is lovely having her here.
So this morning I took Sylvia for a drive around the farm.

It is particularly obvious that the grass is going crazy and although we don't want the rain for the racing, it still is really needed at this time of the year on the farm.

Tomorrow I am really looking forward to going to the Taupo races with a couple of my close buddies and then we are leaving for Hawkes Bay.  We are going to stay with Peter Grieve for the weekend and attend the Hawkes Bay races at Hastings on Saturday - we have some exciting runners lining up there too.

It really is an exciting time of the year for racing - Spring racing heralds the season ahead and I love seeing our horses start their new campaigns. We have horses in black type races in Hawkes Bay and at Riccarton - Abidewithme is number one on the Group 1 Windsor Park Plate ballot while Flaming takes her place in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes. If Abidewithme fails to get a start at Hastings she is also nominated for the Counties meeting at Te Aroha - the Listed Westbury Classic - but we will be on track watch re conditions for the day.

Darci's Dream has trekked south and lines up in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes at Riccarton.  This filly was bought as a yearling by John Galvin and is raced by his Fortuna Syndicate.

It has ben a sad week for one of our owners and her family and we extend all our sympathy and love at this time to Alison Rowe who lost her wonderful husband Bernie during the week.  We also keep Val Bowen and her family close in our thoughts as they have farewelled Dennis.

We have had lots of foals in the past couple of days and the reports on the Burgundy and Rock 'n' Pops is really exciting - and I mean really exciting!  We have some cracking foals and the talk about these two stallions is really good.  This is the year to mate a mare to Rock 'n' Pop or Burgundy - two very exciting stallions in the making!