Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

What an exciting week it has been for Te Akau Racing, with three very good winners to celebrate. It was particularly pleasing for all of us to see King’s English deliver such a dominant performance, winning by five lengths. He is a very exciting colt who has had a few issues along the way, but he really stepped up and won with plenty in hand. This colt was bought at the William Inglis Sydney Sale, and it was a thrill to see him put it all together.

Then Paravane’s win was extremely impressive too. She is a four-year-old mare and a half-sister to Sword of State, and she was bought at Magic Millions. Our other winner for the week was the Home Affairs colt, Kinnaird. Although he only won narrowly, I believe there is a lot of improvement to come, and he looks every bit a lovely Karaka Million colt to me.

Paravane was bred by our great friend Sir Owen Glenn, while Kinnaird was bred by Highview Stud and Brent Gillovic. Going through my sale notes again this morning, I saw that I had written he was “a great type”, and I rated him as highly as I can rate a yearling. I even added in brackets “one for the race” – so it'd be great if that was on the mark!

The weather conditions still are playing havoc with some tracks - which makes me reflect on the fact that there is a lot of discussion, both in public and behind closed doors, at present in New Zealand racing about closing tracks. Personally, I am not in favour of closing any more tracks at all. We have already shut down a good number over the years, and I firmly believe we need every track that remains to sustain the future well-being of racing in this country.

Karyn and I spent the past three or four days in Auckland with various appointments and meetings, and came home to the farm on Sunday afternoon. We were absolutely thrilled to have had 22mls of rain, which has set the farm up beautifully for Christmas. The grass over the entire farm is just fantastic - truly as good as you could wish for.

This week we are only sending two units of cattle to the works, and because we have so much grass coming away, we won’t be sending any next week. The cattle continue to weigh extremely well, and prices remain at record levels. The unit we sent this morning should kill out at around 335kg, and we have another unit going through, as well as one sent yesterday that should do the same. A big thrill last week was what I got for my cull ewes that made $177! When I first started farming, I clearly remember one year getting $2.00 per ewe. Many people don’t believe me, but I promise you it’s absolutely true.

The lambs are doing exceptionally well, and early next week we’ll have our second draft. We’ll drench the remainder and have another pick in early January. We are also cutting some haylage this week. I’ve always liked cutting haylage because it’s such a good way of controlling the grass, and the quality of the fresh growth that comes in behind it is outstanding.

This afternoon we have brought six homebred yearlings in from the back of the farm. We rear them in 35-acre paddocks, and I was absolutely delighted with how beautifully the team have handled them. They were wonderfully well behaved, and next week we will send them away to bering their breaking in.

The next big job on the farm is handling the mares and foals. We have a dozen due home in the next week, and once they arrive, we like to handle them, trim their feet, drench them, and teach the foals to lead. We rear them in 25–35-acre paddocks, and it’s very exciting to see foals by Noverre, Sword of State, Embellish and Paddington absolutely thriving.

Last week I was quite surprised and touched by the amount of interest in my role opening a new building at St Cuthbert’s College. So many phone calls, emails, and text messages from people who were delighted to see my granddaughter Lucia-Rose and me doing this together. It was a truly special occasion and one that made me very proud, as I reflected on the past as well as present generations of my family. To everyone who got in touch, a very sincere thank you.

I am currently very busy studying the catalogues for both the Magic Millions' and the Karaka Sales which are coming up very quickly in January. Each year I am frequently asked why I buy so many yearlings. The answer is simple - firstly, I find it very hard to leave behind any colt or filly I really like, and secondly, we like to have horses available for syndication all year round. It’s like running a shop: if there’s no stock on the shelf, you won’t sell anything. Even at this time of year, we are still selling shares most days.

I am also regularly asked which horses we have still available for sale that I particularly recommend. Today I want to mention three that have shown plenty of natural ability and are truly exceptional types. If you are searching for Christmas gift ideas, there is nothing more exciting than a share in a racehorse!

From the Magic Millions' sale, we have a Home Affairs filly out of King’s Iris. She is now named Flower of Passion, is loving her time in the stable, and progressing very well. Home Affairs is really starting to deliver with his first crop standing out as they hit the tracks. Our weekend winner Kinnaird is by him and this filly is a beautiful type.

A 5% share is $13,020 +gst and a 2.5% share would be $6,510 +gst. That's her below as a yearling and she has grown and developed superbly since then. Learn more here: https://www.teakauracing.com/yearling/lot-563-home-affairs-aus-kings-iris-aus-bay-filly

We also have a lovely Wootton Bassett filly out of Pleasurable, also purchased at Magic Millions. Wootton Bassett of course sadly passed away recently, so there won't be many more fillies by this super-star sire. His progeny are burning up the tracks too, making a real impression. As an individual she truly is a stand-out and has turned heads through every part of her education. She is named Power of Pleasure, and we only have a 5% share remaining.

She is one you really don’t want to miss - the 5% would be $24,230 +gst and a 2.5% share is $12,115 +gst. Learn more here: https://www.teakauracing.com/yearling/lot-788-wootton-bassett-gb-pleasurable-ire-bay-filly

The final filly I want to mention is one we bought at Karaka - a striking Almanzor filly out of Kay's Legacy. There is just 7.5% left in her now, and she is selling quickly. Almanzor can do no wrong currently and his off spring are making a huge impact. Just over a week ago, our own Qali Al Farrasha, a 5YO Almanzor mare, won the Group 2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes - Group 3 NZ Cup winner and our Karaka Millions winner Dynastic are also by Almanzor, as is last weekends Group 3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes' winner Mary Shan. This filly was a snap, and her's is a family on the move, a very progressive pedigree. She is now named Asturia.

A 5% share is $11,070 +gst and a 2.5% share is $5,535 +gst. Learn more here: https://www.teakauracing.com/yearling/lot-43-almanzor-fr-kays-legacy-bay-filly

I can personally recommend all three, and our Matamata training team reports they are flying through their current preparations - they rate all three very highly.

If you are keen - please feel free to call me anytime on +64 21 925 151, or email Karyn at [email protected] she will happily send you the latest updates on these exciting young horses. Yes we can Christmas wrap as well.

Speaking of Christmas - stuck for an idea - we have gift vouchers and these can used for anything from shares, to training fees, to Te Akau merchandise - great gifting!

Best of luck to all our owners with runners this week ... GO THE TANGERINE!