Te Akau Thursday Update

12 June, 2025

David writes:

We had a terrific weekend last Saturday/Sunday with three winners in the space of 24 hours!

It started with an Ellerslie double as Pokuru Gold and War Of Succession both saluted the judge. Pokuru Gold is a son of Darci Brahma that we train for Ian Farrelly and he is a horse we have had to handle very patiently, and Ian certainly supported us in that approach. Therefore it was great to see the 4YO win his fifth race from just eight career starts. He certainly has plenty more to come.

The second winner at Ellerslie was particularly notable - the victory of War Of Succession took Te Akau's New Zealand stakes' earnings for the season past the $9 million mark. This is the first time in New Zealand racing history that any stable has hit over $9 million won for their owners, and we are very proud of this achievement. We live and breathe to win races for our owners who so loyally support us.

It is a wonderful benchmark, especially when you consider that the previous record of domestic prize money was also set by our stable - $8.25 million in 2022/23.

On Sunday the winning continued when Colonel Warden travelled to Awapuni and was very impressive when winning by four lengths for long-term stable supporter Ronald Lau.

Congratulations to our hard working Matamata team, it's often a quieter time for the stable on the racing front, but our wonderful crew keep delivering.

Staying with that winning theme, we had another great day at the races yesterday, winning two races at Riccarton.

What an incredible job Hunter Durrant and his team are doing at Riccarton for us. We only have 20 horses in work, 25 at the most, and the South Island Trainers’ Premiership that was in the racebook yesterday shows that Te Akau has now won 32 races this season from our South Island base with horses located there – 10 more than any other stable. That’s a fantastic result and shows the consistency and care that goes into every runner we present.

So in total that's five wins in five days, which as I mentioned, is pretty unusual for Te Akau at this time of year, because we don’t normally win many races when the tracks get so heavy. But the team have really been on fire over the past month and I just want to say again - well done to everybody – it’s a real credit to the team and systems in place, both in the North and the South.

I was delighted to also see Stage 'N' Screen clock up her second win from our Australian team - she was very determined winning the BM 64 race worth A$40,000 and showed a lot of grit and courage - our Australian stable which only has a maximum of 70 horses, has now won over $2 million this season too.

We had a terrific ten days on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions' sales, and we were thrilled to sell all seven mares that we offered through the Magic Millions' National Broodmare Sale. While we were there, we bought three lovely yearlings, and I’m pleased to say all three were sold within a couple of days. We also purchased a staying horse from Inglis Digital called St Vincents Garden, and he has settled in well at our Cranbourne stable and won't be too far off having his first start for Mark and our Victorian team.

This brings the total number of horses that we’ve bought this season to 74, which is very exciting. It means we’ve got a whole new wave of promising young horses coming through, and the future is looking bright with a lot to look forward to next season.

So in total that's five wins in five days, which as I mentioned, is pretty unusual for Te Akau at this time of year, because we don’t normally win many races when the tracks get so heavy. But the team have really been on fire over the past month and I just want to say again - well done to everybody – it’s a real credit to the team and systems in place, both in the North and the South.

I was delighted to also see Stage 'N' Screen clock up her second win from our Australian team - she was very determined winning the BM 64 race worth A$40,000 and showed a lot of grit and courage - our Australian stable which only has a maximum of 70 horses, has now won over $2 million this season too.

We had a terrific ten days on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions' sales, and we were thrilled to sell all seven mares that we offered through the Magic Millions' National Broodmare Sale. While we were there, we bought three lovely yearlings, and I’m pleased to say all three were sold within a couple of days. We also purchased a staying horse from Inglis Digital called St Vincents Garden, and he has settled in well at our Cranbourne stable and won't be too far off having his first start for Mark and our Victorian team.

This brings the total number of horses that we’ve bought this season to 74, which is very exciting. It means we’ve got a whole new wave of promising young horses coming through, and the future is looking bright with a lot to look forward to next season.

One filly I’m actually staggered still has some shares available is Lot 209 from the Inglis Easter Sale. She’s by I Am Invincible out of a really good stakes'-winning O’Reilly mare called Talaria, who is a full sister to Brutal, the Group 1 Doncaster winner now standing at stud in Australia. Her third dam is Straussbridge, who left Te Akau Rose, and the family just keeps improving, with Damask Rose winning the Karaka Millions 3YO and the NZB Kiwi this year.

This is a filly I bought from Sledmere Stud for A$450,000 – and she’s as nice a filly as I’ve ever bought. She has almost completed her breaking in over in Victoria, and the senior breaker has nothing but huge praise for her - his reports are truly glowing. She’s got real quality and she’ll be trained from our Cranbourne stable.

There is only 12.5% now available in her, so if you're interested, just email Karyn at [email protected] or give me a call anytime on +64 21 925 151 – she’s a filly I can really recommend. You can view her pedigree or learn more about here here: https://www.teakauracing.com/yearling/lot-209-i-am-invincible-talaria-nz-brown-filly

Another filly I just can’t believe still has shares left is Lot 287 from Karaka – a Proisir filly out of She’s Aloof, who I bought from Rich Hill Stud for $150,000. She’s a strong, athletic type – a real Karaka Millions filly if I’ve ever seen one. Learn more about her here: https://www.teakauracing.com/yearling/lot-287-proisir-aus-shes-aloof-nz-bay-filly

I usually dictates my updates while I’m driving around Te Akau Stud, and our amazing EA Shanti Brown is the one who types it up for the team to post on the website. It’s a great system and gives me time to reflect as I drive around the farm - and I’ve got to say, today I’m just blown away by how much grass we’ve got. The farm is in incredible shape. That rain we desperately needed came at the right time, and it’s made a world of difference. There’s a real buzz in the farming community at the moment.

The prices we’re getting for beef and lamb are at record levels - and I’ve been farming for 46 years, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a year like this one. The outlook for next season is just as positive too, which is great news for everyone on the land.

We finished scanning the ewes last week, and I’m proud to report our mixed-age ewes scanned at 178%, which means 178 lambs per 100 ewes – a terrific result, especially after a drought year. The stock is in great condition, and that’s something to be very proud of.

Today Mark and Reece are here sending owner updates of the horses that are currently spelling. One thing I’ve really noticed is how well the horses have done in their breaks - they’ve come back into the stable in fantastic condition. I think we’re going to have a very strong team hitting the ground running when the new season starts on 1 August..

This Friday, I’m heading to the NZ National Fieldays at Mystery Creek for a look around – it’s been years since I’ve had the chance to go and I’m really looking forward to it. This Saturday, we’ve got a really good jumps' meeting at Te Rapa, and we’ve got a couple of runners on the day - I am looking forward to being there. And then on Sunday we are hosting ten people at the farm for a farm tour and afternoon tea - we offered this for auction at a rowing team fundraiser for a Hamilton secondary school, and they were the successful purchaser.

Thank you as always for your ongoing support, and best of luck to all our owners with runners this weekend.

GO THE TANGERINE