Te Akau Thursday Update

David writes:

It has been a really busy week at Te Akau Stud - this morning James Jackson rode the first of our home-breds that he is breaking in - the main photo is of him taken this morning.  He is a Saperavi gelding out of A La Votre - A la Votre was a Volksraad filly I purchased and we trained to win three of her 12 starts.  I am very impressed with the quality of the off-spring that she has and I am predicting that she will leave a really good horse.  James Jackson does all the breaking in at Te Akau Stud and is a world class horseman.

The Savabeel/Almaviva colt that we have been selling shares in has been hugely successful with plenty of new owners involved.  He really is a high class colt and there is only 10% remaining in him - if you are interested in being involved please be quick as it is heart- breaking for Karyn and me to see people disappointed when all the shares have gone.

It is an exciting weekend in Singapore with Mark Walker lining up 12 runners including the Kevin Hickman bred and raced Jimmy Rea.  Kevin bred and races Silent Achiever and was named Champion Breeder for the last season.

To give you an idea of our chances with our team at Kranji this weekend ... Singapore's champion jockey Manuel (Manny) Nunes is riding 9 of our 12 horses for us.  He has the pick of all of the horses in Singapore, everyone wants him to ride their starters as you can understand.  So it is a really good indication of how well Mark Walker is going and how well our horses are that he is riding most of them..

Today we gave a significant donation of $1000 to Ronald McDonald House through Cameron George, CEO of the Auckland Racing Club.  All through summer, and culminating on Diamond Day on 7 March, the Auckland Racing Club is supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).  RMCH takes care of New Zealand's families throughout their children's medical journeys.

Together, Auckland Racing Club and RMHC are aiming to raise funds to build desperately needed additional bedrooms at the Ronald McDonald House in Auckland. These will become safe havens for Kiwi families, from all over New Zealand, whose children have been admitted for specialist treatment at the National Children's Starship Hospital. The funds raised will help ensure that RMHC continues to be there for every family who needs it.  The Auckland Racing Club is aiming to raise $80,000 which can help the build and fit out of one family bedroom which on average would become a home for 27 families across on year.

We are all looking forward to racing at Ellerslie on Saturday and the field for the Group 2 Avondale Guineas looks very exciting and we are thrilled with how Rockfast has progressed. We also have the high class mare Angelica Hall returning to racing.  She is owned by Windsor Park Stud and is full of quality - it is great to have her back.

Another "returnee" to racing is rider Cameron Lammas and we are thrilled to have him back riding for us.  Cameron is one the best horsemen you will find and he is going down to New Plymouth to ride Enshrine, the filly bred and raced by Karyn, in the Group 3 Taranaki 2YO Classic.

This week we have bought a lot of store cattle at unbelievably reasonable prices and I can see that as soon as the rain comes, store prices are going to lift dramatically. Whether this happens in two weeks or six weeks I am not sure but when it does come, both export and store prices will rise. In the last week we have sold three units of steers and three of bulls - while the prices are not as good as they were six weeks ago, we are still getting good margins at today's prices.

We were absolutely stoked last night to watch one of Te Akau racing's newest owners Brendon McCullum named New Zealand Sportman of the Year - what a thrill and indeed a great honour for an outstanding New Zealander - well done Brendon we are hugely proud of you!  A recognition so richly deserved.

ESPN Sports' Media reported:

Brendon McCullum has been named the New Zealand sportsman of the year, the first cricketer to win the title since Martin Crowe in 1991.

New Zealand enjoyed unprecedented success under McCullum in 2014, winning five Tests from nine matches, a national record. It included series victories against India and West Indies, as well as a drawn series against Pakistan in UAE. In ODIs, the team crushed India 4-0 in January 2014, and secured a hard-fought 3-2 win against Pakistan under spin-heavy conditions in UAE in December.

Individually, McCullum scored 1164 Test runs - the most by a New Zealand batsman in a calendar year - at 72.75 and finished as the fourth-highest run scorer in 2014, despite playing the fewest innings among the top 10 batsmen in the list.

McCullum's stellar year began at Eden Park, where his 224 set New Zealand up for a 40-run win against India. In the second Test at the Basin Reserve, New Zealand were struggling at 94 for 5 in the second innings, still trailing by 152 runs, when McCullum scripted a stunning turnaround. He put up a 352-run partnership with BJ Watling, and eventually became the first New Zealand player to score a triple-hundred, helping his team to a draw and a series win.

McCullum had a quiet tour of West Indies, scoring just 87 runs from three Tests, but New Zealand clinched the series 2-1, their first series win away from home against a top-eight nation in 12 years.

In UAE, New Zealand surrendered the first Test against Pakistan by 248 runs, but in the third Test in Sharjah, McCullum blasted a 188-ball 202, ensuring the visitors leveled the series with an innings and 80-run win. He capped off a fine year by scoring 195 against Sri Lanka in Christchurch, where he also knocked off the record for the fastest hundred by a New Zealand player in Tests, off 74 balls. The innings also ensured that McCullum become the first ever New Zealand batsman to amass 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.