Te Akau's Horses & Humans Award Finalists

Finalists have been released for the 2023-24 New Zealand Horse of the Year Awards, ahead of voting by a judging panel.

The black-tie awards dinner is held on Sunday 8 September at Mystery Creek Events Centre in Hamilton, and Te Akau Racing is once again very well represented.

Having won Horse of the Year in four of the past five years, with dual winners Melody Belle and Probabeel, Te Akau has a leading chance again with former Champion Three-Year-Old and Champion Sprinter/Miler Imperatriz (5 m I Am Invincible – Berimbau, by Shamardal), who was narrowly defeated for HOY last year. 

We are proud that every equine finalist was selected and purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM, as were the two Horses of the Year mentioned above!

Imperatriz is a finalist to defend her title as Champion Sprinter/Miler. 

Imperatriz – 2023/24 season timeline:

9 September Moonee Valley – 1st McEwen Stakes (Gr. 2, 1000m - track record)

29 September Moonee Valley – 1st Moir Stakes (Gr. 1, 1000m - breaks her own track record)

28 October Moonee Valley – 1st Manikato Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m)

11 November Flemington – 1st Champions Sprint (Gr. 1, 1200m)

17 February Flemington – 1st Lightning Stakes (Gr. 1, 1000m)

9 March Flemington – 2nd Newmarket Handicap (Gr. 1, 1200m)

23 March Moonee Valley – 1st William Reid Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m)

6 April Randwick – 4th T J Smith Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m)

Purchased for A$360,000 by David Ellis CNZM at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale 2020, from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds, Imperatriz was owned by the Te Akau Invincible Empress Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).

In 2023 alone, Imperatriz won more Group One races (6) than any other horse in the world, on her way to capturing 10 Group One wins among a total 19, from 27 starts, nearly NZ$7.6 million in prize money. 

In the 2023/24 season Imperatriz won more Group 1 races than any other horse in Australasia (5) and in fact became the the first New Zealand-trained horse to win five Group I races in Australia in a single season since the introduction of the Australian group classification system, in the 1978-79 season. 

She was rated the best sprinter on the planet, before finally selling when retired in Mat this year for A$6.6 million to become the highest priced filly or mare ever sold in the Southern Hemisphere.

For the lucky syndicate owners, they turned A$360,000 into more than $14.5 million.

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Last year, Tycoon Tycoon (Satono Aladdin) became the 11th Champion Two-Year-Old title winner for Te Akau, after a season that included becoming the seventh consecutive Karaka Million 2YO (Restricted Listed, 1200m) winner for the stable.

This year Te Akau has three of the four nominees for Champion Two-Year-Old, Bellatrix Star, Captured By Love, and Move To Strike.

Winning the first two-year-old race of the season, Bellatrix Star (2 f Star Witness – Alana’s Party, by Exceed and Excel) also won an exciting rendition of the Eclipse Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m). 

Owned by the Fortuna Bellatrix Star Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), she was purchased for $80,000 by David Ellis CNZM and John Galvin at the Karaka 2023 Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Phoenix Park, and ended her juvenile season winning two of five starts for $207,700 in prize money.

Captured By Love (2 f Written Tycoon – Moldova, by Snitzel) impressively won the Wakefield Challenge Stakes (Gr. 2, 1100m) at just her second start, having won on debut as well.

She followed the win with victories in the Taranaki 2YO Classic (Gr. 3, 1200m) and Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m) – becoming the ninth winner of the race for Te Akau – and was also twice Group One placed.

Owned by the Te Akau 2023 Magic Fillies’ Breeding Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Captured By Love was purchased by David Ellis CNZM at the 2023 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, from the draft of Milburn Creek. She has won four of her six starts and prize money over $335,000.

Impressive debut winner Move To Strike (2 c I Am Invincible – No Evidence Needed, by Shamardal) recorded a brilliant victory in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m).  In doing so, he became his superstar sire's first ever juvenile Group 1 winning colt globally.

Move To Strike became the eighth Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) winner for Te Akau, and sixth in the past seven years after homebred filly and Champion Two-Year-Old Maven Belle (Burgundy) won in 2022.

Move To Strike provided Te Akau stable rider Opie Bosson ONZM with his 2000th win when scoring on debut, while Bosson is also approaching another incredible milestone currently sitting on 98 Group One victories.

Owned by the Te Akau 2023 Stallion Breeding Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Move To Strike was purchased by David Ellis CNZM for A$525,000, from the draft of Baramul Stud, at 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. 

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Quintessa (3 f Shamus Award – Chaquinta, by High Chaparral) was a filly that really jumped out of the ground this season, and a worthy nominee for Champion Three-Year-Old.  

Te Akau horses have been crowned Champion Three-Year-Old six times, including Imperatriz in 2022. 

A winner of her sole start as a two-year-old, Quintessa had an outstanding three-year-old season, highlighted by victory in the Levin Classic (Gr. 1, 1600m), and marked by consistency with three fourths in Group One races, including the Australian Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) and Australian Oaks (Gr. 1, 2400m).

She also finished runner-up in both the Alistair Clark Stakes (Gr. 2, 2040m) in Melbourne and the Auckland Guineas (Gr. 2, 1400m).

Owned by the Te Akau Awarded Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Quintessa was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM as a yearling for $170,000 at the 2022 Karaka Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Wentwood Grange, and won nearly $640,000 in stake money.

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Campionessa is a nominee for Champion Middle Distance Horse, won recently by former stable-mates Melody Belle and Probabeel, and which Te Akau has previously won five times.

One of the best race mares in New Zealand, Campionessa (6 m Contributer – Bella Carolina, by O’Reilly) richly deserved her victory in the Zabeel Classic (Gr. 1, 2050m), which arrived on the back of stakes' wins in the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr. 2, 1400m) and Cal Isuzu Stakes (Gr. 2, 1600m), and was followed by another valuable victory in the Peter Young Stakes (Gr. 2, 1800m) at Caulfield (Melbourne) where she defeated two former Group 1 Melbourne Cup winners.

Owned by the Te Akau Campionessa Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), she was purchased by David Ellis CNZM for A$60,000 at the 2019 Gold Coast National Yearling Sale, from the draft of Mapperley Stud, where the sire stands.

Her 33 starts have yielded 11 wins, 10 places, and over $1.25 million in prize money. 

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Horses in all categories are eligible for Horse of the Year

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Assured of winning the 15th Trainers’ Premiership for Te Akau, with a tally of 169 domestic wins for the season, Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson are also finalists for Trainer of the Year, an award won last year by Walker (securing his 10th premiership) following a record-breaking 203 wins and $8.25 million in stakes money. 

The 2023/24 racing season was another memorable one for Te Akau Racing, recording the second highest number of both wins and stakes money in New Zealand racing history.

Walker was joined in partnership this season by Bergerson to achieve 169 wins, including 63 wins in the South Island, and $8 million in stake money, while Walker also steered the Te Akau stable at Cranbourne (Victoria) to win NZ$7.6 million in stakes money in Australia.

Again there was a high ratio of stakes' winners: 30 in total, including nine Group One's, with 21 stakes' wins in New Zealand and nine in Australia - in just ten months since the establishment of Te Akau's Australian stable!

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Former Te Akau apprentice, now stable rider, Opie Bosson is a nominee for Jockey of the Year. 

The five-time Champion Jockey rode his 1000th winner in 2010, surpassed Hall of Fame legend Lance O’Sullivan (62 Group One wins) in 2019, while this season was awarded Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), reached his 2000th win in New Zealand, and now approaching another incredible milestone with 98 Group One victories.

A world-class rider in any language, Bosson is technically proficient, cool under pressure, in sync on a horse, and his incredible ability to win big races (including four consecutive Karaka Million 2YO) is second to none.

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The epitome of ownership support in Te Akau Racing, John Elstob and his wife, Denise Bassett, are finalists for Owner of the Year. 

Highlighted by owning shares in Champion Mare Imperatriz, John and Denise also share in HOY finalists Captured By Love and Move To Strike, alongside an additional six stakes' winners currently in the stable. 

The couple enjoys breeding and is experiencing such cess in this area too. They are extensive travellers to watch their charges race and an integral part of not just horse ownership in New Zealand, but also administration and business (SVS Veterinary Supplies).

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In the past six years, Te Akau has won 20 horse awards and 17 people awards at the Horse of the Year ceremonies. 

The 2023-2024 New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards will be held on Sunday 8 September at Mystery Creek Events Centre in Hamilton, commencing at 5 p.m.