Te Akau Tuesday Update

David writes:

Wow! What an exciting time of the year it is for Te Akau
Racing!

On Sunday, Karyn and I were at Ellerslie for a great day of racing.

We watched On The Bubbles, a Brazen Beau gelding I bought at Karaka last year, win his 2YO race very impressively with Johnathan Parkes aboard. This horse who we know as "Bolli" is now favourite for the Karaka 2YO Million on Saturday week.

I thought his effort to sit three and four wide for the trip was an amazing performance - although I am unsure of the strength of the opposition, you can't do more than what this horse did, which was so impressive.

On the Bubbles was our 89th winner for the season.

Perfect Scenario, our other runner on the day, ran a good race for second, and he will have his next start in the Karaka 3YO Classic - another $1 million event which we won with Probabeel this time last year.

We were also at Ellerslie for another special reason and that was as sponsors of the Te Akau Gingernuts' Salver. It was won by a Savabeel colt, Milford, very well trained by Stephen Marsh and his team. It was great to see them go home with the tangerine rug honouring our special horse - that's him in the main picture winning the Group 1 NZ Derby with Opie aboard.

NZ TRAINERS' PREMIERSHIP - as at 12.1.21

		Wins	2nds	3rds	Stakes	Starts	G & L	SR
1	Jamie Richards	89	73	46	$2,448,670	453	16	5.09
2	Stephen Marsh	36	39	46	$951,115	478	3	13.28
3	Allan Sharrock	32	18	13	$535,515	124	3	3.88
4	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	30	32	21	$951,420	236	3	7.87
5	Michael & Matthew Pitman	30	31	25	$624,060	253	0	8.43
6	Tony Pike	23	20	29	$452,770	158	2	6.87
7	Kevin Myers	22	30	24	$460,200	212	0	9.64
8	Kelvin Tyler & Aimee Tyler	19	24	13	$408,345	150	0	7.89
9	Team Rogerson	18	25	19	$478,945	328	3	18.22
10	Lisa Latta	18	22	24	$375,700	232	0	12.89

Before I went to the races, on Sunday morning I was present at the hearing for our stable rider Opie Bosson, where he appealed his suspension.

The remarkable thing about this hearing was that the Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) said that it could accept a reduced suspension and replace it with $10,000 fine. However the Judicial Control Authority judges didn't agree with this.

What the JCA appeal judges didn't realise is that we are in a pandemic. There are  currently 24 jockeys either suspended or injured or disqualified and can the industry really turn down $10,000 that they would have received from a fine? It is a lose lose situation.

The punters lose, the TAB loses, owners lose, racing fans lose, the racing clubs lose - there are no winners.

We won't have Opie at Karaka Million night and I feel sorry for the Auckland Racing Club, sorry for Boys Get Paid and sorry for the TAB, and especially sorry for owners of the horses he would be riding as he would have been such a big part of the night.

I understand that he is receiving an official review of the sentence, which will take place next Monday.

During these very difficult times and while the world has been going through so much upheaval and unpredictability, and we can't import jockeys from overseas like as many stables have done in the past, we have to be a bit smarter on our feet and think outside the square - higher fines and less suspension time is just that.

I am not saying for one minute that breaking rules should be penalty-free - this is not about Opie and not about Te Akau - it is an industry issue - what shape and form should these penalties take? Just because there is an historic approach does not mean it is right for these times.

We don't need to be pig-ignorant and say just because we have done something this way for the last 100 years, that it is the way forward. Actually I believe that decent sized fines would be a bigger deterrent than giving them a 'holiday' on the sidelines.

Let's face it - our senior riding ranks are depleted, we are in crisis with numbers - and that is a safety issue itself.

The really frustrating fact is that there was a direction from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing to the JCA to fine more, rather than suspend.

To those people who say that Opie receives ‘special treatment' I say to you what a load of rubbish. This is simply not the case. I have been harder on jockeys and have demanded safer racing for everybody involved more than most. It is not about giving preferential treatment to anybody! It is about looking at the whole picture and what is the best way to run racing. Why penalise the industry when we could penalise the jockey concerned?

Whatever happens, the good thing is that Opie is in good form, and he will be back stronger than ever. The worst case scenario is that he will be riding Melody Belle in the Thornton Mile on Wellington Cup Day as his return to racing.

Our weekend really was a winning one actually from Saturday on as Vincere was very brave at Awapuni - she is a beautiful grey Pins mare I bought at Karaka who is raced by David Coleman and his son Hamish. Lucky Shark in the same race was one heck of a run - go back and look at that performance, he missed the starts by a good number of lengths and it was the run of the race as he rattled home into fourth. Our other Awapuni runners ran with credit with Supreme Khan and Challa both runners up.

Then on Sunday, the winning continued with our Singapore stable, as Te Akau's Mark Walker landed yet another winner. Mark finished second on the Trainers' Premiership for the Singapore season just ended on 31 December. He has won the Premiership three out of the past seven years and he and his team are fired up for the new season ahead!

Today is the start of the Magic Million Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast and
Te Akau will be active in buying some nice fillies and colts. 

If you are interested in being involved with these horses, do not hesitate in letting me know or email Karyn - [email protected]. Do keep an eye out on our Yearlings and Shares page for updates as we buy!

Today I am viewing yearlings at Brighthill Farm and
Pencarrow Stud. In have been very impressed with the quality of yearlings that
we have seen this year and literally can't wait to get to Karaka to buy some of
these top class yearlings.

It is a big week, as Karyn and our daughter Lydia are travelling to Wellington on Friday for the races on Saturday. We have the hot favourites in the Group 1 races - Avantage defending her Telegraph crown and Brando in the Levin Classic.

Both horses are going to be ridden by New Zealand's
current leading jockey, Danielle Johnson. She is riding in absolutely
sensational form.

Have a great week and I hope that you can all come out to the Karaka Sale and be part of what is going to be an incredible atmosphere and really good sale. I am predicting some great buying for Kiwis that are here - there has never been more interest from people wanting to be involved in racing with the Te Akau team!

It is exciting times ahead and I can see that stake money increases not far off!

GO THE TANGERINE
at TRENTHAM!

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