Te Akau's European Challenger

TDN (Thoroughbred Daily News) reports:

Import to challenge
for carnival honours for Te Akau

David Ellis has made his first foray into the European tried
horse market with the private purchase of a 4-year-old who will represent a New
Zealand ownership group during the Melbourne spring carnival.

Caliburn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) has been bought by the Te Akau
chief and his wife Karyn through bloodstock agent Paul Moroney and the couple
will race him with company clients. Matamata trainer Jamie Richards will take
charge of the entire, who will make his Australian debut next month.

However, the 4-year-old will firstly require a name change as
Warrnambool trainer Symon Wilde is currently having success with another
Caliburn, a recent winner at Murtoa who is also ironically a son of Camelot.

“I think our horse will be called Te Akau Caliburn,” Ellis
said. “Paul was the agent that bought the horse for Karyn and myself and we'll
race him with some good clients of Te Akau.

“It's pretty exciting, I've bought a yearling in Europe
before and this is the first proven horse I've bought,” Ellis said.

“It's pretty
exciting, I've bought a yearling in Europe before and this is the first proven
horse I've bought.” - David Ellis.

In 2013, he purchased Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock), who is out of a sister to former champion European stayer Yeats (Ire), for 70,000 euros at the Arqana Deauville Yearling Sale and he won the G3 Sagaro S. and the G3 Vintage Crop S.

He also finished runner-up in the G1 Goodwood Cup and the G1
Irish St Leger and finished third in the G1 Ascot Gold Cup before his sale last
year to German interests.

Moroney's brief was to secure a staying prospect to chase
the lucrative prize-money in Australia and filled it with the former Andrew
Balding-trained entire, who has won twice up to 2400 metres and has three
placings from his nine appearances.

“I told Paul that I wanted a horse who could measure up at
Group 1 level in Australia, whether it was this spring or a horse that had the
potential to improve and be competitive in the big races next year.

“Whether we get to the Caulfield Cup or the Melbourne Cup
this year who knows, but I'm pretty confident the following year we can run in
all the big cups.”

Form franked

At his most recent appearance last month, he finished
runner-up at Newmarket over 2800 metres behind King's Advice (GB) (Frankel
{GB}), who is the current favourite for England's richest handicap - the 1
million pound Ebor H. at York.

“He went into quarantine in Newmarket last Friday and he'll
be there for two weeks and then he goes to Werribee and has two more weeks in
quarantine,” Ellis said.

A programme has already been locked in for the entire with
his early performances to decide if he continues on a spring cups' path this
preparation.

“We're thinking that he'll run over 2500 metres at Flemington on September 14 as a nice lead-in to the Bart Cummings,” Ellis said.

Tattersalls graduate

Sold for 155,000 at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in
2016, Te Akau Caliburn is a son of the Listed Leopardstown Knockaire S. winner
Enchanted Evening (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), whose four foals to race are
all winners and includes the stakes performer Taexali (Ire) (Raven's Pass
{USA}).

Out of the multiple North American Group 3 winner Glen Kate (Ire)
(Glenstal {USA}), Enchanted Evening is a half-sister to the Group winners King
Jock (USA) (Ghazi {USA}) and Perfect Touch (USA) (Miswaki {USA}) and the family
of the three-time Group 2 winner Katdogawn (GB) (Bahhare {USA}).

Te Akau Caliburn will likely be joined in Melbourne by
stablemates and G1 Cox Plate hopefuls Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) and Te Akau
Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) while Avantage (Fastnet Rock), In A Twinkling
(Fastnet Rock) and Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) are also in line to make the
travelling party.

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