Te Akau Thursday Update

David writes:

What a mixed day we had at Te Akau Racing yesterday.

The day started brilliantly when Corporate Missile won impressively at Matamata.  I bought this filly for $150,000 at Karaka from James Chapman's Jamieson Park.  She has grown and developed into a stunning filly who could well finish up in the Group 1 Gavelhouse 1000 Guineas in November.

James Chapman himself also owns another good chance in that classic race who we train for him - O'Naturelle.  She won her first start very impressively and is already based at Riccarton where she will run in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes on Saturday week.   Our team in the South has settled in beautifully at Riccarton.  At present we have eight horses there and we will be sending further Cup Carnival candidates down in the next fortnight.

We are incredibly lucky to have two world class horsepeople in Kris and Nicole Shailer who have accompanied the team south and are doing a terrific job looking after them.

The disappointing part of the day yesterday was in Melbourne - we were eagerly looking forward to Shillelagh having her first start on Australian soil but the races were abandoned after the third race due to the Sandown track being declared unsafe.  Safety is always of course paramount but it was a very frustrating outcome to what should have been a race meeting to look forward to.  We will now re-design this very talented mare's programme accordingly.  There is always a "Plan B"!

This Saturday is of course a big day for all of us.  Xtravagant aka Blake has been working really well after a minor delay with a temperature spike 10 days ago that saw him scratched from his initial first Australian start this campaign.  He has drawn barrier seven for the A$200,000 Group 2 Bobbie Lewis on the Flemington "straight six" track and Damien Oliver will ride him.

We also have unbeaten Group 1 and Listed 2YO winner Heroic Valour resuming at Ruakaka for his 3YO season.  However I unfortunately can't be there as I will be at a 'stag lunch' on Waiheke Island - in four weeks my second daughter Sarah will marry Nick and on Saturday both the bride and the groom have their pre-wedding "bachelor/ette" functions with their respective friends/bridal party members.  I actually haven't had an alcoholic drink for a month now so I am really looking forward to a fun afternoon when I break my self-imposed "drought"!

The big news in racing this week has been the huge increases in stake money announced by Racing New South Wales - with the minimum stake in the city on a Saturday moving to A$100,000 and for the provincial tracks to A$30,000.

This is being partly funded by the government reducing the money that it takes on duty on each dollar that is bet.  The government is reducing the duty at 1% per annum for four years as it recognises the huge ecomonic impact the racing industry makes.

It's about time our government in New Zealand woke up to this too - whilst all governments do some things right - this is one area that they have not got right in New Zealand, which I remind Minister for Racing Hon. Nathan Guy every time I see him!  This government certainly cannot include the support of racing in its list of achievements.

On Tuesday I spent all afternoon in Matamata inspecting our horses in the stable.  With Steve Autridge in Melbourne, Jamie and team are doing a great job of looking after everything and the horses are starting to look terrific as they lose their winter coats.   At present, Te Akau Racing has the best staff we have ever had and I was rapt with how everything looked (the main picture features Heroic Valour and Teina Walters who looks after him).

I was particularly interested to see our 2YOs in the stable on Tuesday - wow we have some exciting youngsters - as as our stable rider Matt Cameron says - GO THE TANGERINE!

Today our team is at the Cambridge trials which we will have a report on later for you - including photos from Julia Rose.  It is freezing today so I know everyone will be wrapped up warmly and looking forward to getting back indoors as soon as possible!