Te Akau TV - Group 1 Gals Weekend
Date: 8 Mar 2024
Happy International Women's Day! Let's hear it for our incredible girls who are taking centre stage in Group 1 races this weekend!
Welcome to this episode of Te Akau TV! We're revving up for a 'compact' yet thrilling weekend of racing ahead. This week, Hamish catches up with Reece Trumper and Ben Gleeson, who give us all the intel heading into this weekend's racing!
This week, our team has been busy across the ditch, adding a few extra future stars to our stable from the Melbourne Inglis Premier Sale. Two sold, shares in two remain, so check them out on our website - they will race from our Cranbourne stable.
While we have shares available in these new additions, our focus this week for our 'Yearling Of The Week' is on our striking Savabeel/Kansas filly - we cannot believe that limited shares are still available in this girl, we bought her full sister last year and she has shown us plenty! To learn more about this filly please click here.
Reflecting on the past week, we saw some top winning performances - Matamata on Thursday it was Altari and our first ladies' horse She Turns Heads that claimed line honours. She Turns Heads had previously finished second five times and third four times so the girls knew that win was close!
Last Saturday saw Te Akau horses winning everywhere - four wins at four venues.
The start of Auckland Cup Week and back at Ellerslie as Certainly claimed the Group 3 Mufhasa Stakes for team Waikato Stud. That's the fourth time Te Akau has won this race in the past five years. It was also a great effort by Ascend The Throne to finish third in the Group 1 Trackside New Zealand Derby. The tangerine winning theme continued at Otago with impressive juvenile Nucleozor romping home, with stablemate Discretion Rules third. We then settled in to see Sans Doute emphatically claim the first at Flemington in Melbourne while Quintessa lost no fans when fourth in the Group 1 Australian Guineas. Into the evening and it was Otahuhu winning in Singapore.
Yesterday, Caravella and Plenty O' Style added to our tally, and our impressive strike rate from our South Island stable, rounding off a successful week for the team!
This weekend, all eyes are on Ellerslie for Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup Day, with the unbeaten Captured By Love contesting the Group 1 Sistema Stakes.
Don't miss Imperatriz and Skew Wiff doing battle in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington. Imperatriz, meaning the Empress, ready for the very tough challenge as she attempts to secure her 10th Group 1 title. With an impressive record in Group 1 races and carrying top weight (58kgs) under Opie Bosson, and Skew Wiff with only 52 kgs, this race promises to be one for the ages that you can't miss!
Please remember that due to the forecast of 39 degrees in Melbourne tomorrow, the Flemington meeting has been brought forward. As a result, the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap will run at 2.45pm NZ time/12.45pm VIC time.
Looking ahead, it's hard to believe that next week we'll be ready to roll for the New Zealand Oaks and Wellington Guineas at Trentham. How time flies.. when you're having fun at the races!
Best of luck this weekend - let's make it one to remember! GO THE TANGERINE!