Te Akau TV - Another Black Type Weekend
Date: 30 Aug 2024
With winter almost officially behind us we've got a 'spring' in our step as the racing season is heating up!
Before saying goodbye to winter (we're still frustrated by some of those heavy tracks, though), let's first take a moment to celebrate the winners over the past week! This time of the year, with those 'off tracks,' is always traditionally a little quieter for the tangerine team. However, there was still plenty to celebrate:
The last seven days delivered a quartet of winners - Malmaison at Awapuni, Alminette at Riccarton, Stonybreck at Cambridge, and Not Straight Laced yesterday back at Riccarton. Not Straight Laced also won a $20,000 Pearl Bonus for her delighted owner/breeders in addition to her winning stake! Te Akau always nominates all our fillies for this lucrative series, which received a sizeable boost when Entain came on board.
Special mention from last weekend also goes to Group 1 winner Skew Wiff. She showed she's on target to defend her Tarzino crown, finishing off well for third in the Group 2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate in the sponsor's colours. In Australia, Sans Doute flashed home late to snatch third in the Listed Carlyon Stakes, adding to her Australian black type CV. She recorded the fastest sectionals of the whole day at Moonee Valley - definitely one to watch this spring! How good too was Leaderboard, who put in a gutsy effort for second in the prestigious Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat.
Last night, the team attended the Matamata Racing Centre Awards - an annual event that is always fiercely contested by stables based at Matamata. Te Akau horses and humans that were honoured:
- Champion 2YO: Move To Strike
- Champion Sprinter/Miler: Imperatriz
- Champion Stayer: Campionessa
- Champion Apprentice: Niranjan Parmar
- Champion Jockey: Opie Bosson
- Champion Trainer: Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson
- Owner of the Year: Te Akau Imperial Empress Racing Partnership (owner of Imperatriz)
- Champion Horse of the Year: Imperatriz
A huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees. Your hard work and dedication continue to inspire us all. It’s such an honour to have our home track host these prestigious awards.
Now, cracking into the weekend ahead, we have a quality team in action.
Starting on Saturday at Wanganui, where it's the first 2YO race of the season - a race that we have won many times before with youngsters like Cool Aza Beel, who went on to win the Karaka 2YO Million. Tagalomu and To Bravery Born line up in a compact field of five runners. In the feature, the Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas, all eyes will be on Unbridled Joy as he takes aim at further black type.
Buckle in for nine Riccarton runners in the South (they've had a busy couple of race days this week) - and of course, we can't wait to cheer Quintessa on in Melbourne. She had a super campaign in Australia last season, and she's returned to settle some unfinished business. Being a Group 1 winner, she has the impost of 60kgs in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes but has a gun rider aboard in former Te Akau apprentice Daniel Stackhouse. On Sunday we're set to enjoy runners in Singapore.
Next week, we gear up for the first Group 1 of the New Zealand season—the Tarzino Trophy at Hawkes Bay. We see our year's winner, Waikato Stud’s Skew Wiff, back to take on what promises to be a quality field. It’s always a great day at Hastings, as Spring racing announces its arrival. Then on Sunday, we’re dusting off the glad rags to celebrate the 2023/24 season that was with the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards in Hamilton. We are very excited to be officially awarded our 13th NZ Trainers’ Premiership title. Te Akau is proud to feature with eight finalists in various award categories!
We hope the spring weather has you all ready and primed for the exciting racing ahead! Best of luck to our owners and connections this weekend. GO THE TANGERINE!