Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

What an exciting weekend Te Akau Racing and our owners have just enjoyed. Seven winners over the weekend, five on Saturday, with stakes' winners in both the North and South Islands, a Group One victory in Australia, and then a winning double at Ellerslie yesterday - it has been one of those weekends that reminds you about the joy that racing can bring to so many people's lives.

I can’t describe how happy Karyn and I are for our owners - both for owners who have entrusted their horses to us to train, and also owners in our syndicated horses. 

To also see the excitement on the faces of our team, who work so hard caring for these horses every day, gives us enormous satisfaction. We are truly blessed with the best team of young people you would find anywhere - at Matamata, Riccarton, Cranbourne and at the farm. 

Results like these are never achieved by one person - they are the product of wonderful teamwork, great horsemanship and very loyal owners, so well done to everyone involved and a huge thank you to all our owners who continue to support us at the level they do. We never take that support for granted.

The weekend really started rolling at Te Rapa on Saturday, where we won three races on the eight-race card, and what a thrill it was.

Our Ole Kirk colt System Of Play - aptly named as Ole Kirk was the inventor of Lego - started the ball rolling, and what an promising colt he is. He has always shown us ability and I can’t wait to see what he can do as a three-year-old. I think there is plenty of upside there and it is exciting for his owners to have a horse like him heading into next season.

Then it was the turn of Talisker, fresh-up and perhaps at a distance short of his best, yet he was still a very convincing winner. His effort showed real quality and heart - how good to see him straight back into the winner's circle after a somewhat frustrating season so far for him.

Then came our first of three stakes' wins for the day, when Drops Of God was dominant in the Group 3 Windsor Park Stud Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, beautifully ridden by Craig Grylls. A big congratulations to her breeder Greg Tomlinson of Nearco Stud, who races her alongside Raptors Thoroughbreds. Greg has bred some outstanding racehorses, including the Te Akau purchased and trained, and Cambridge Stud raced, Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas' winner Kahma Lass, so it was lovely to see Greg enjoy another big result for his Nearco Stud operation.

There were other very good efforts at Te Rapa too, notably our homebred mare Qali Al Farrasha, who ran a stirring race for second in the Group 2 Travis Stakes, adding even more black type to her resume. She has been so honest and I really do think after a spell she can come back stronger and knock off that Group 1 title next season - she deserves that, having been four times placed at that level.

Then our South Island stable chimed in, and what a terrific result that was! Perlino, who I bought at Karaka, relished the rise to 2000 metres and she won the Listed NZB Warstep Stakes impressively for Bruno Queiroz. Congratulations also to her owners and to Hunter Durrant and our Riccarton team.

So four wins in New Zealand for Saturday, but our Cranbourne team was about to add to that tally!

As all eyes turned to Morphettville in Adelaide, it became a very special Australian afternoon as well. Having just her third start, our Ole Kirk two-year-old filly Wonderful Sky earned valuable black type when runner-up in the Group 3 Sportsbet Breeders' Stakes Stakes, a terrific performance from such a lightly raced filly. Congratulations to her owner and our long-time friend and supporter Ronald Lau, this black type will have added to her future value considerably.

Then, putting some recent back luck behind her, Geegees Mistruth, ridden by Jordan Childs, came sailing home late to capture the A$1 million Robert Sangster Stakes, and what a thrill that was. To win a Group 1 in Australia is always special, and this gave Mark Walker and our team their second Group 1 victory in Australia in the space of a month, following Belle Cheval’s brilliant Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes win.  

We are very grateful to Elizabeth Geard Racing who entrusted Geegees Mistruth to us in early September last year - her previous trainer Stuart Gandy had done a fantastic job with her and she arrived to us seven months ago in great order.  We are also very thankful that David Archer and Dianne Wright chose Te Akau for their filly Belle Cheval and she is currently enjoying a good spell before getting ready for her 4YO season.

As I mentioned before, we feel privileged to train for private owners and breeders as well as train our syndicated horses, it's a seamless operation that works very well.

On Monday we headed to Ellerslie, where the stable and Craig Grylls combined for a winning double. It was lovely to see Sabatini win so stylishly on debut for owner Gerry Harvey, and then Avantaggia go back-to-back, recording her third win this preparation. She is the daughter of our wonderful, nine-time Group 1 winning mare Avantage, and she is maturing beautifully. There is no doubt after the break she will now enjoy, she can come back an even bigger and stronger four-year-old mare.

So all up, seven winners, black type performances on both sides of the Tasman, and a weekend full of thrills for owners. It was one of those weekends to remember.

On the young horse front, we still have shares available in some very nice yearlings, although I can hardly believe how quickly they are selling when you consider how many we purchased in total. We do this so we have shares available through the year and I really do think we bought some very special yearlings this year. 

The feedback I’m getting from our trackwork riders and the breakers has been extremely encouraging. At present every horse has either been broken in or is currently at the breakers and after that they come into the stable for Sam and Reece and our Matamata team to give them three or four weeks’ additional education - learning how to deal with starting stalls, swim in the pool, work on the various training tracks, all while gaining more education and conditioning.

They then head home to spell for between six and twelve weeks depending on the individual. It is a system we believe strongly in and one that has served our horses very well.

And while racing has been exciting, I have to say the farm is looking superb. In fact, as I dictate this update driving around the farm with my dictaphone in hand, I honestly can’t remember seeing it looking better. There is so much grass, the stock look fantastic and we are heading into winter in the best shape we have been in for a long time.

We have just finished shearing 2,500 ewes and 900 hoggets, with over 50 bales of wool ready to sell. It is pleasing to see the wool price improving again. I remember in my first year farming in 1979 receiving $6.50 a kilo, last season it was $1.50, and now we are looking at $3.50 to $4.00 a kilo, with hopefully more upside to come. 

This morning we sent another truck and trailer load of steers to Greenlea and I’m predicting they will return just over $3,000 each. Talking to friends who understand the international market much better than I do, the immediate future for beef and lamb looks pretty exciting too. It is always nice when both the racing and farming sides of life are in a good place at the same time.

Tonight I’m off to the Te Akau sports complex for a bowls' tournament - something I haven’t done in many years, so that should be fun and undoubtedly a bit humbling!

As we edge toward winter, things naturally quieten a touch for us on the racing front, but we still have some nice chances this coming week and plenty to look forward to.

Best of luck to all our owners with runners this week and once again, thank you for your tremendous support.

Go the Tangerine!

Main picture - Geegees Mistruth returns victorious with Jordan Childs