Te Akau TV - Group 1 Action Awaits
19 September, 2025
Group 1 & Group 3 Glory on the Line!
A milestone week for Te Akau Racing rolls into a blockbuster weekend as we look towards Group 1 action in Australia.
It has been a week of milestones and accolades for Te Akau Racing, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.
Congratulations to Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker, who celebrated a special milestone over the weekend with his 1400th domestic victory. The champion trainer marked the occasion in style, collecting a treble at Riccarton Park alongside training partner Sam Bergerson. The winning continued mid-week in Victoria, with Mcwoody successful on debut.
The Australian Jumps Racing Association (AJRA) also informed us this week that Mark is the winner of the JJ Houlahan Championships – Champion Trainer in the 2025 AJRA Mosstrooper Awards.
The AJRA stated:
“This award is a recognition of your outstanding achievements and contribution to jumps racing during the 2025 season. The Mosstrooper Awards celebrate the very best in our sport – the horses, trainers, jockeys, ground staff, and all those who make jumps racing thrive. Your success this season has set you apart, and it gives us great pleasure to acknowledge your efforts in this way.”
Mark will receive his award tomorrow in Melbourne – warmest congratulations to Mark, Ben and our whole Cranbourne team. The unprecedented trifecta in the A$400,000 Grand National Steeplechase was history-making – kudos to our jumping stars Leaderboard, The Mighty Spar and Prismatic, and well done to their owners.
Last Friday we also celebrated the 2024/25 South Island Awards, where we were proud to see Cool Aza Rene named Champion 2YO of the Year, while Dream Of The Moon claimed the coveted NZB SI Filly of the Year title. Our southern stable was also honoured with the Trainer of the Year award.
These latest recognitions cap another season of outstanding results across all spheres of the industry.
We have started the weekend in winning style, with Fierce Flight (Buddy) showing great grit and determination to win his maiden hurdle at Te Aroha today. Now our attention turns to a huge weekend of racing, with ten runners at Ellerslie in New Zealand and a Te Akau trio at Caulfield in Australia.
At Ellerslie on Saturday, promising filly Queen’s Evidence takes centre stage in the $175,000 Group 3 Sunline Vase. With Opie Bosson aboard, she faces her toughest test yet as she steps up to black-type company, chasing her moment to shine among the country’s leading three-year-old fillies.
In Melbourne, the spotlight falls on Damask Rose, who contests the A$1 million Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes. To be ridden by Michael Dee, she carries just 52kg and shapes as a live lightweight chance despite her outside barrier. While her draw is far from ideal, her sectionals last start showed what she is capable of, and this is a golden opportunity for the exciting NZB Kiwi winner to prove herself on one of Victoria’s biggest stages.
Best of luck to all our horses, owners, and connections as the Tangerine Army sets its sights on more big-race moments.
GO THE TANGERINE!
