Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

Well the Te Akau farmer is going to die a happy man!

Breeding a Group 1 NZ Oak's winner and winning the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year in the process is just the biggest thrill anyone could have in racing.  Karyn and I are both over the moon, and so very proud of the efforts of our home-grown girl Belle En Rouge.

To top that off, we have had 38mls of rain and that's brilliant news for the farm, with hopefully come more to come.

This is a time of the year we really enjoy especially with the quality of racing, but gee it's also a very busy time.  We are just so proud of what the team achieved for our owners at Trentham on Saturday.  Well done to Jamie and our team, it was a fitting result for Jamie's final Group 1 raced day in New Zealand.

Te Akau trained horses won or ran second in every black type race on the Trentham programme, and had a first four home in the Levin Classic and quinella in The Oaks:

Group 1 Wellington Seamarket Levin Classic

winner: Imperatriz
runner up: On The Bubbles
third: I Wish I Win
fourth: Mohawk Brave

Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld NZ Oaks

winner: Belle En Rouge
runner up: Self Obsession    

Group 3 Wentwood Grange Cuddle Stakes

runner up: Mai Tai

Listed Race a Horse with Te Akau Lightning Hcp

runner up: Burgundy Rose

Listed Barneswood Farm St Leger                                  
winner: Leaderboard

These results were just brilliant - and I am so proud of our hard-working team and delighted for our loyal owners - our warmest congratulations to you. There are plenty of people who spend a lifetime in racing trying to be involved in a Group 1 winner and to have two on the day was amazing.

I will never forget showing John Elstob and his partner Denise Bassett around the yearlings a couple of years ago and I showed them an I Am Invincible filly.  I said how I couldn't understand why this filly wasn't sold because she was a real ripper.  They took the share that wasn't sold and now part own Imperatriz plus they also have a share in Belle En Rouge so what a day for them.

Saturday was also momentous for another reason - these results took our stable through the $6 million barrier for prizemoney won for our owners in New Zealand alone.  This is, I am told, an all-time record for any stable in New Zealand and of course we have also won A$1.6 million in Australia this season and almost S$500,000 in Singapore (in just three months).

NZ TRAINERS' PREMIERSHIP - as at 22.3.22

Although the yearlings we purchased at Karaka have been selling much quicker than we could have ever thought, there are still shares available in magnificent young horses - let me give you an example:

LOT 32 is a Staphanos filly out of the Darci Brahma mare Ultra Explosive - gee she is an impressive filly with a real depth of pedigree to boot. 

Staphanos is a Japanese stallion and I am predicting that he will be a very successful sire in New Zealand for Novara Park where he stands.  I just love this filly's bloodlines, it's a family full of tough, gutsy racehorses who have dominated on the track.

Her dam is a half-sister to dual Australian Group 1 winner Explosive Jack who won the Australian Derby and South Australian Derby and was placed in the Queensland Derby.  She is also a half-sister to smart juvenile Extra Explosive who recorded two wins at two, including the Listed Castletown Stakes.

Close up in the family you will also fin Group 1 NZ Derby winner Vin De Dance.  This filly's half-brother Explosively was also twice Group placed at Ellerslie before going to Hong Kong.

I bought this filly as an ideal Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas' filly, who would train on to target either a Group 1 Derby or Oaks.

~ A 10% share is $21,000 +GST
~ A 5% share at $10.500 +GST
~ A 2.5% share is $5,250 +GST

If you are interested in being involved in this sweet filly, do not hesitate to email Karyn - [email protected].

Te Akau really knows how to prepare fillies - we had a first four in the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas this year headed by The Perfect Pink, while Belle En Rouge, Imperatriz and Entriviere have all won Group 1 races this season.

Our quinella in the Group 1 NZ Oaks on Saturday saw Belle En Rouge and Self Obession dead heat for the NZB Filly of the Year title, which we won last season with Amarelinha, who also won the Oaks. Te Akau has now trained EIGHT NZB Filly of the Year title winners - this prestigious award comes with a $50,000 bonus from New Zealand Bloodstock for the winning owners too.

The next Group 1 race day is at Awapuni on 2 April and Mark Walker will be in the driving seat as Head Trainer at Te Akau in New Zealand.   At this stage both Karaka 2YO Million winner Dynastic and dual stakes' winner Maven Belle (another home gown filly we syndicated) will head to Palmerston North for the Sires.

We also are having another exclusive Te Akau TV event with Andrew Bensley airing on Thursday evening at 8.00pm NZT to chat through all things Te Akau Racing with David Ellis. Joining Andrew and David will be our nine-time Champion Trainer Mark Walker who has returned home to again lead our NZ operation. TO RSVP to this LIVE event please click here: https://fb.me/e/5uZliNhjA

Best of luck to all our owners with runners this week and two big thank you's:

Firstly, to everyone who has invested in our new yearlings, we really look forward to bringing out the best in them for you. Secondly, to our amazing team who has worked tirelessly to deliver these record-breaking results for our owners - thank you so very much!