Te Akau Weekend Update

David writes:

It's always exciting to go away on holiday but gee it's great to be home too!

It is such an exciting time of the year and Spring is just around the corner which means that Group 1 racing is almost here.  The horses are starting to lose their winter coats and are really blossoming.

The Te Teko trials are this Tuesday and we will have 28 horses trialling and the next morning we are taking six horses down to Taupo to have a gallop.  Yes it is the time of the year that I live for!

One thing that has blown me away is how much grass we still have and how warm it is.  We are in the middle of lambing at present and obviously it is such an advantage having this warm weather for our ewes and their newborns.

As a result of all of the grass that we have, the cattle have done really well and have put on more weight than usual - the bull and cow prices are at record levels so yes it is an exciting time.

Yesterday we all got a big thrill out of our first starter for the new season winning at Riccarton in a dominant fashion.  Brer, who won his maiden steeplechase event by five lengths, is raced by my great friend Peter Grieve, together with his daughter Kath and son Doug.  We have been great friends for about 35 years.

I regard Peter as the best farmer in New Zealand.  He has huge farms in Hastings, running sheep and fattening cattle, and also has two very successful dairy farms.  Peter used to train his own horses and trained Brer's great grandmother Braless who was very well named, being by Showoff out of Cuddles!

I was thrilled to see Brer win so decisively also because I love jumping races, especially at Ellerslie and Riccarton and a front-running jumper is a very special sight.

I was also rapt for our apprentice Dan Miller - Dan is a young guy really going places and is a very valuable member of the Te Akau team.  Dan also rides our very best horses in track work each morning.  Everyone at Te Akau was over the moon to see Dan win his very first steeplechase ride at Riccarton - we all love seeing a young guy like him succeed.

Brer is also Tommy Hazlett's baby boy and Tom had accompanied Brer down to the South Island.  A lot of people on course were blown away at how excited Tom was to see the horse win so easily - we weren't surprised!

Many people don't realise just how many hours a week people like Tom work - they are at the stable at 4.00am until around 5pm and often don't arrive home from the races until 11pm.  My team members do this because they just love our horses and take such pride in seeing them win.  Special people with huge passion and dedication.

So it really was a special way to start the new season - a great team effort!

On Friday Karyn and I went to the broodmare sale at Karaka.  Before the sale we went to the stallion parade and I was delighted to see Burgundy and Rock 'n' Pop parade looking in such great order.

Here are two serious stallions, both from the Danehill sire line - one out of a Zabeel mare and the other out of a Sir Tristram mare, who both won at Group 1 level.  One won an Oaks and the other one, a Derby.  Te Akau will be supporting both stallions again this season.  We have our first mare due to foal this week - we have 17 foals due to Burgundy, eight foals to Rock 'n' Pop and three to Darci Brahma.

While we were away in Hawaii we were very fortunate that Sam Boyd was able to come and stay and keep an eye on verything - and of course look after the dogs!

We all watched the Sydney Super 15 rugby final together last night and wasn't it an exciting game?  While it wasn't quite the result we hoped for on this side of the Tasman, it was great for the game.  Even though our boys didn't win, they still played very well and it was a terrific game of rugby.

With the finish of the 2013/14 racing season last week, I can now officially congratulate our Te Akau stable rider Matt Cameron for winning the New Zealand Jockeys' Premiership.  Despite having six weeks enforced lay-off due to injury, Matt "bolted in by 10 lengths, being eased right down to a walk!"

Matt won 143 races (25 more than the runner up) - his wins included Group 1 races such as the Auckland Cup in his tally of 11 Group and Listed victories.  He also had 102 second and 108 third placings to his credit.  His strike rate of 6.03 is a very impressive statistic.  It is no wonder that all the top trainers want to have Matt ride for them - congratulations Matt from everyone at Te Akau.

Matt is also a finalist for the New Zealand Jockey of the Year Award which will be presented at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing's annual awards' ceremony on Thursday 14 August in Hamilton. We all wish you all the very best in that quest too.

At the awards' ceremony, Costa Viva will offically receive her NZB Filly of the Year presentation and trophy.  We are very proud that she has also been named as a finalist for the NZ Champion 3YO of the Year award.

So we are all very much looking forward to the new season - keep an eye out for our August newsletter which will also fill you in on the details for our upcoming Owners' Events to be staged in November in both the North and South Islands. We can't wait to welcome you!