Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

Last Monday I flew to Japan for a week. I soon realised that it was going to be one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had.

It was my first visit to Japan, and what a great country it is. The place is so clean and tidy, and the people are so polite. The hotel we were staying in had at least 20 different restaurants - quite amazing.

After settling in for a few days, we flew down to Hokkaido, which is about one and half hour's flight from Tokyo. Here, we visited the Shadhai Stallion Station owned by Katsumi Yoshida, which has some of the best stallions that you will ever see stand.

Next door was the Northern Farm, where Mr Yoshida has over 400 horses in work. The facilities were quite remarkable. As they get a lot of snow in winter, the have beautiful indoor gallops uphill. 

No stone was left unturned. It was amazing, a real eye opener!

The Japanese have some of the best horses in the world, and I am really keen to come back and buy a couple of yearlings in the near future. 

It was such a special thrill to go to the Ajinomoto Stadium to see the All Blacks play their first match in the Rugby World Cup against the Springboks. I will admit, I was pretty nervous, especially as the last World Cup game I saw live was in Wales, when France beat the All Blacks in 2007 in Cardiff.

The atmosphere at the ground was just electric, and the stadium itself is just amazing, seating 68,000 people. It was packed out and the All Blacks didn't disappoint! They played very well and it certainly was a memorable experience to be part of.

Six months ago, I wasn't sure if I was going to have the time to go, so I am pleased I made the effort. It is an amazing country and even though there are 12 million people living in Tokyo, the traffic flowed very freely at all times. 

While I was away, Te Akau Racing in New Zealand was on fire, with Jamie Richards winning two races last Wednesday at Avondale, four at Taupo on Friday and two winners on Saturday - one at Riccarton and the other at Hawkes Bay. With 14 wins currently under his belt, Jamie leads the New Zealand Trainer's Premiership at this early stage.

In Singapore, our trainer Mark Walker is now 19 wins ahead in the Trainer's Premiership - an amazing achievement! Mark and the team have had a phenomenal season - and with three months until the season ends, Mark looks on target to claim his third Singapore Trainers' Premiership since 2010 when we established our Kranji stable.

(

We really enjoyed watching our 2019 Karaka Million winner Probabeel race last Saturday in Australia - we actually all thought that she might have won! It was such an impressive performance to rush home, and only be beaten by a lip - bring on the Group 1 Flight Stakes over the mile!

We certainly made sure we had a drink to celebrate Melody Belle taking out her eighth Group One race on Saturday.

It is incredible the way Jamie has trained this mare. He always has her ready and to my eye, she is actually on the improve. She is certainly going to be very hard to beat in the Livamol Classic in two weeks' time.

If she can win that, she will achieve two things no New Zealand horse has ever done before in this country - she will have won the most New Zealand Group 1 titles (she currently shares top position with dual Horse of the Year Mufhasa) and she will have claimed the elusive Triple Crown that no horse before her has been able to do, including the likes of Starcraft, Seachange etc.

Des Coppins called Melody Belle "the greatest New Zealand mare we have ever seen since Sunline" - that's some compliment.

I would like to make a special mention to my fabulous team that looks after our horses. You have all worked so hard lately, and this week's tally of eight wins, including the second Group 1 for the season is for you. Well done team! Only two Group 1's raced in New Zealand so far this season, and Te Akau and Melody Belle win them both.

Te Akau's jockeys Opie Bosson and Michael McNab were also in great form during the week, both riding top races. Well done guys.

It will be a very busy day on Saturday week, as Jamie has the favourite for the Group 1 Epsom in Sydney in Te Akau Shark - he will have a track gallop after Race 1 at Canterbury tomorrow in Sydney with James McDonald aboard. Probabeel, who is the favourite for the Group 1 Flight Stakes also races in Sydney that day while Melody Belle will step out on this side of the Tasman as favourite for the Group 1 Livamol Classic.

As if that is not enough - we have Te Akau Caliburn also racing that day in Melbourne and he is one of the favourites in the Bart Cummings. How exciting is that? It's a credit to Jamie and the team and they all make me very proud. 

Now for the next few days, my attention turns to the farm. We have finished docking where we drench the ewes and the lambs. 

We now start dagging the ewes and lambs and give the lambs another drench. In five weeks' time the sheep are all shorn and the lambs will be weaned.

Stock agents Alan Radford and Ken Browne have been busy buying store cattle and we now have about 600 yearlings on the farm that have cost marginally less than $990 each.

That means that we now have nearly 3000 cattle on the farm, so I really hope we get some decent rain over the next few weeks so that the grass really takes away. To be fair, it has done but pour all day since I got home this morning - remember, I have told you that farmers are hard to please!

Have a great week and GO THE TANGERINE!

Back