Te Akau Tuesday Update
13 September, 2022
David writes:
I would like to wish Yulong Stud in Australia all the very best of luck with Entriviere who they purchased on Gavelhouse Plus last week. Our bonny mare who we know as Gypsy leaves today for its stud in Victoria.
Recently we have received news that both Avantage and Melody Belle have successfully had their first foals and both are fillies. Avantage had a Wootten Bassett filly - Wootten Bassett is the sire of Almanzor and resides at Coolmore Stud, while Melody Belle had a Written Tycoon filly, and she is based at Yulong's operation. We will certainly follow these fillies' careers with a great deal of interest.
It really is a frustrating time of the year weather-wise. All we want is good tracks for our horses and all we get is rain, however one thing is for certain, we can't control the weather.
Karyn and I got a big thrill out of seeing Dynastic come back in such dynamic fashion and win the Listed El Roca-Sir Colin Meads Trophy. It was a gun ride by Opie Bosson, our stable rider, and what a huge amount of heart the colt showed. Much of the race he was three wide and in the straight he just gave it his all. We were so proud of him and delighted for his ownership group. He will now head back to contest the Hawkes Bay Guineas in two and a half weeks.
Our filly Sans Doute also had her value increased with a stakes' placing in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes.
The track at Hawke's Bay on Saturday was the heaviest I can remember there. They ran 1:32:49 for 1400m which was just too heavy for our talented mare Imperatriz. I thought she went a super race given the circumstances to run fourth.
Our horses also drew the outside barrier all day and we just didn't have the rub of the green but they all still went great races - and wait until we get better tracks, they will be flying.
Mark Walker heads to the South Island after a busy day at the trials today. He will be at the races at Riccarton tomorrow and is staying on for the races at Riccarton on Saturday. We have 17 horses based at Riccarton at the moment with stable foreman, Hunter Durrant in charge. Mark will be back for the Te Rapa races on Sunday and he is looking forward to working with our southern team in the next five days.
All the stud farms are flat stick at the moment mating mares and welcoming foals. We have had three foals arrive thus far and a number yet to be born - one colt and two fillies. Below is our Darci Brahma/Fashion Forward filly born last month, we bred her together with very good friends.
One young stallion that I really like and think is a big chance to make a significant impact is Embellish. We have six two year olds in the stable by Embellish and they can all gallop, plus we have some lovely yearlings on the farm by this same sire.
Embellish of course won the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas (pictured below) and has a brilliant pedigree of being by Savabeel out of an O'Reilly mare. At a $4,000 service fee, this could be the deal of the century. If you have got a mare that you think would fit the Savabeel cross, Embellish is a terrific, well-priced option you should consider (below).
With the cold, wet weather, it is very hard for jockeys to keep their weight down but our stable jockey Opie Bosson is really determined to have a big season and has been in my gym, literally every day training very hard. I've never seen Opie so fit and I am predicting he is in for a big season. I am very proud of his determination and we all know what an advantage he is on race day!
The news from the farm is all good. We have now finished lambing and are well into docking the lambs. The grass is growing adequately but we would love some 19 - 20 degree days to really get the grass growing. As I always say to my friends, if you have got a lot of grass in September, you are not going to be able to control it in October, so it is a frustrating time of the year for the farmer.
Have a great week and best of luck to all our owners with runners this week.