Te Akau's Mark Walker - 9 Premiership Titles

World-class Te Akau trainer Mark Walker secured his fourth premiership win to end the season on Saturday in Singapore.

Winning with King Arthur (I Am Invincible), Walker extended his tally to 66, eight clear of second placed Michael Clements. Walker was Champion Trainer in 2015, 2017 (Singapore record 87 wins) and 2019, runner-up three times, third, and fourth.

The racing season runs from 1 January in Singapore (with a December break), as opposed to 1 August in New Zealand.

Walker joined Te Akau Racing straight from school and has risen to the heights of top-class thoroughbred trainer, capable of making his mark in any racing jurisdiction worldwide.

Prior to leaving his home at Matamata, New Zealand, to establish a stable for Te Akau at Kranji racecourse, Walker set a new benchmark for wins in a season when he trained 108 winners in 2009/10 season, to eclipse the previous seventeen-year-old record.

Winning the training premiership five times in New Zealand, Walker was the youngest with his first success in 2003/04 when only 31, subsequently eclipsed by Jamie Richards when winning aged 30 in 2019/20, while also establishing a new record (160) last season.

“It's always satisfying to win the training premiership,” said Walker, on Sunday, while back at work and walking horses.

“Michael Clements had a good first six months, and led, but we had a lot of good rides during the season and kept up regular winners.

“Our apprentices, Hakim (Karamuddin) rode 59 winners to win both the senior and junior premierships, so we're lucky to have him, and Jerlyn (Seow) started riding really well towards the end of the season.

“They've each come through the Te Akau way of producing apprentices and it's been really satisfying.  You'll see Hakim soon because he's coming down to ride in New Zealand, and work with Jamie full-time. He rides very well.

“We are very lucky to have the support of John and Jessica Galvin of Fortuna Syndications, and, of course, Dave and Karyn.

“Racing is going through a trying time and we're still only racing once a week, behind closed doors. It hasn't been a memorable season for that reason and there's no atmosphere at the races. I just hope, going forward, that it does get better.”

Adept at handling both bloodstock and livestock, Walker grew up on a dairy farm in Rahotu, about 30 minutes out of Opunake.

“I think, fundamentally, when you're starting out, and I was one of the lucky ones that I met Dave (Ellis) when I was young, you need someone to back you.  Not only financially but also have confidence in you, your ability and what you can achieve.  Dave has been in the game a long time and can read a race better than most people I've met and he's never afraid to back off a horse, give it a spell when it needs a spell, and there's always another day with him.

“And that's part of the success of Te Akau. There are a lot of horses that were given time and of course when you give them time it costs more money, so you've got to have someone that understands racing completely and Dave's very fortunate that he does.

“So, firstly, you've got to get the chance and then you've got to have the ability, I suppose, and it's a bit like a great gardener: a great rose grower, some people can do it and some people can't, and that's the bottom line.

“Both Jamie and myself have been very fortunate that we've had the backing of Dave and Karyn. My theory, basically, and I've said it for quite some time, is that the whole racing game is won and lost in the sales ring. And, I truly believe that.”

Between 1997 and 2010, Walker trained 858 winners for Te Akau, including 88 stakes' winners. In November 2018, he recorded his 500^th win in Singapore when Elite Invincible (Archarcharch) provided a season highlight in $1.35m Singapore Gold Cup (Gr. 1, 2000m), and he has registered over 1500 wins as a trainer, over 20 at Group 1 level.

Among stars Mark has trained, all purchased by David Ellis, Princess Coup (Encosta de Lago) still holds the record for domestic earnings (over $4 mollion) before being sold for $3 million as a broodmare. Maroofity (Maroof) provided Mark's first Group 1 win in 2003 and went on to be crowned Champion 2YO of his season.

While five-time Group 1 winner, Horse of the Year, Champion 3YO and Champion Sprinter/Miler as well as now Champion Sire Darci Brahma (Danehill) may be the best horse Walker has trained, horses like Horse of the Year, Champion 3YO and Champion Sprinter/Miler King's Chapel (King of Kings) and Distinctly Secret (Distinctly North) are also among the finest.

Walker has trained Guineas' winners on both sides of the Tasman, with one of his most outstanding feats being Darci Brahma winning the T J Smith Stakes (Gr. 1, 1600m) as a two-year-old at Eagle Farm, Brisbane.

He won the local ‘Derby' Matamata Breeders' Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m) on six occasions and trained a hat-trick of fillies to win New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year: Shikoba, Princess Coup and Insouciant.

Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM, who provides opportunities to so many in racing, recalls employing Walker when just out of school.

“Mark had been out once to Te Akau Stud on a horse float, and next time he gave me his CV,” he said. “I didn't have any positions, but read his CV that night over a cold beer and thought this guy has got something. He'd just finished school, had a bursary to go to university, intelligent, and I thought I'd give him a job on a three-month trial and we've worked together ever since.

“He stands out as a leader in every respect. He was a great show jumping rider and a genius with what he can get a horse to do. When he was only 26-years-old he had trained the favourite for the Melbourne Cup and not only is he an extremely good judge of a horse but he is the best trainer I have ever seen in preparing a horse to peak for its main target.

“He is always the first trainer to the track each and every morning and probably the most dedicated guy I have ever met. Mark is now a director and shareholder in Te Akau Stud Limited and our partnership has been incredibly successful. Mark took up the training role for Te Akau in Singapore ten years ago to give us a fresh challenge, provide new and lucrative opportunities for our owners, and to be part of a terrific racing jurisdiction.

“He understands the importance of keeping horses happy in order for them to do their best and seems to have an unbelievable way of understanding the individual characteristics of each horse. I think that's why he's so successful. That, plus he's such a hardworking and professional guy. He's always working and thinking about how to get the best out of the horses he trains.”