Te Akau Weekend Update

David writes:

Yesterday I was back at the stables in Matamata.  At this time of the year I love seeing how the horses improve.  The babies really change - some look like early two year olds when we break them in but now they are starting to grow.  It is obvious they are still going through that growth spurt and won't be ready to race until after Christmas.

The stand-out exception is the colt that I bought in Sydney at Easter, an Exceed and Excel who has been named Unsurpassed.  He is out of a daughter of the great mare Champagne.  This mature colt will trial in two weeks - all going well - at Te Teko, where we will have quite a few more two year olds to trial.

One big advantage our stable has is that we have a really nice paddock for every horse in work.  Te Akau has looked at training horses out of a box on the racecourse - and while that would save a lot of money - I feel that it is much better for the horses to go out to paddocks each day.  There they not only eat good quality grass, they also walk and lay and relax.  In other words they feel good about life.  The alternative is to put them on a horse walker which does not in any way compare with a nice paddock.

This week I also bought 10 yearling steers for Matamata and they will be rotated around each paddock to ensure that each horse gets really good quality grass.

I also bought 100 bulls this week - the export price (already at record levels) had another big rise this past week and I can see a shortage just around the corner.  What is really pleasing is that all the cattle are still thriving on the abundance of grass and, with the days getting longer, it will only be another two weeks until the grass starts growing again.

We only have 120 ewes left to lamb and with all the fine weather we are in for a very good percentage this year.

On the way home from Matamata last night I was thinking about the seasons just finished - Singapore on 31 December 2013 and New Zealand on 31 July 2014.  When I added up the stats for Te Akau, it became obvious what a truly remarkable season we had across the operation.

To finish in the top three in the Trainers' Premiership (second in Singapore and third in New Zealand) in two countries is an amazing achievement - in total we won 141 races and approximately $5 million in prizemoney for our owners.  Plus we trained our fifth NZB Filly of the Year of the last decade. This is the most prestigious title for three year old fillies and carries a $50,000 bonus for the owners and $10,000 for the stable.

I am so proud of our team that delivers these outstanding results!

This coming week is also going to be very exciting - we have the first Burgundy and Rock 'n' Pop foals due and we can't wait to see them! Both sires were trained by Te Akau's Jason Bridgman and their feats on the track have seen them enthusiastically supported as stallions.

Also on Thursday New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing stages its annual Horse of the Year awards in Hamilton.  There Costa Viva will officially receive her NZB Filly of the Year crown - she is also a finalist for Champion 3YO of the Year.

Te Akau stable rider Matt Cameron, the Jockeys' Premiership winner, is a finalist for the Champion Jockey of the Year award too - good luck Matt!  After being runner up on the Premiership for the past two seasons - he thoroughly deserved his win for this one just past!

Then on Friday night Australian training legend Lee Freedman will re-live some of the golden moments of his stellar career on the eve of the Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate.  The Waikato Racing Club is staging its inaugural cocktail party on the eve of its big race day - an exciting new event that is set to become a permanent fixture as the Club announced last week .....

“We are absolutely delighted that Lee has agreed to be our guest.  His training feats stand tall in the history books of Australian and international racing success - he will be a very popular draw-card in what is a huge thoroughbred weekend in the Waikato,” said Waikato Racing Club Chairman Karyn Fenton-Ellis.

“The NZ Thoroughbred Racing Awards are being staged in Hamilton on Thursday 14 August and our major race day is at Te Rapa on Saturday.  Many people attending the awards told us they are staying on for our race meeting to see some of racings' elite equine players in the Group 3 Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate.  So we thought, let's make the weekend even more memorable.  Our cocktail party is just the first of a number of exciting new initiatives the club will be rolling out in the new season.  We have some incredible good news stories to share in coming months, watch this space!”

Five-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Freedman is regarded as one of racing's all-time greats, preparing MAKYBE DIVA to win two of her three Cups, as well as claiming four Golden Slippers, four Caulfield Cups and two Cox Plates.

He also produced MISS ANDRETTI to win the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, while other stars to come under the guidance of the Australian Hall of Fame trainer included Alinghi, Encosta De Lago, Flying Spur, Mummify, Super Impose and Doriemus.   These days Freedman has a strong link to New Zealand racing through his role as a director of racing for Sir Peter Vela's Pencarrow Stud.

The Cocktail Party will be held from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at the Waikato Racing Club on Friday 15 August.   Tickets, available from the Waikato Racing Club, to this not-to-be-missed event are $25 and include canapes and bubbles on arrival. A cash bar will operate.  Dress code will be smart casual.

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When Karyn arrived home today from Trackside (hosting The First Call) she gave me a letter that was sent to her at the channel.  It wasn't the nicest thing to read and was very personally insulting.

Gee there are some sad people out there - very "brave" people who never sign their name to what they write.  If Te Akau wants to make a statement or has an opinion (and that goes for us as individuals) then we put our name to it and sign it.  I feel sorry for people who criticise under a nom de plume and we believe that their views are worth nothing if they won't stand behind them in name - but hey aren't we lucky that we are in an industry that by far has more good people than those types.

Did you see the first race today from Riccarton?  Yes that Dan Miller our stable apprentice was at it again - winning!  Dan has now won a race on each day of the Grand National Carnival, not bad for a 16 year old!  He is a super horseman with a big future.

Well it will be minus 3 tonight they say in Hamilton so wrap up and keep warm and talk tomorrow!