Te Akau's "Season That Was" continues ...

The 10th Group/Listed success of 18 for the season for Jamie Richards and the Te Akau New Zealand team was another beauty - our THIRD consecutive win of the Karaka 2YO Million on the eve of the Karaka yearling Sale - a feat never accomplished by any other stable.

We obviously like the number '3' as Te Akau horses also provided the trifecta in the event - Probabeel the Queen, followed by Aotea Lad and Yourdeel ... no pressure for the new season!!!!

She absolutely killed them. Take nothing away from stable-mates Melody Belle (Commands) and Avantage (Fastnet Rock) who won the two previous editions of the $1m Karaka Million (Restricted Listed, 1200m) but Probabeel(2 f Savabeel - Far Fetched, by Pins) could have surpassed them in completing a hat-trick for Te Akau Racing on 26 January at Ellerslie.

Both Melody Belle and Avantage were named Champion Two-Year-Old, with Melody Belle now the winner of six Group One races and Avantage also a Group One winner, so Probabeel has work ahead to frank their records but she clearly has the talent.

Flawless in her preliminary, the superiority of Probabeel, after drawing the outside gate (14), to leave her rivals cold with a devastating finish was something to behold - winning by two and three-quarter lengths - in a race described by Racing Minister Winston Peters as “going from strength to strength”.

Instigated by Sir Peter Vela, for New Zealand Bloodstock sales graduates, the Karaka Million was first contested in 2008, and in his first season as sole trainer for Te Akau Racing, Jamie Richards claimed the trifecta with Aotea Lad (Savabeel) comfortably holding down second and Yourdeel (Dundeel) fighting hard to dead-heat for third. 

“It's a big buzz and a bit of relief to be honest,” said Richards, who had five in the race. “It's awesome for Brendan and Jo Lindsay, and Henry Plumptre. David (Ellis) bought this filly last year for them and they're a pretty important part of our industry and as Dave says, the most exciting thing that's happened to our industry in a long time (having bought Cambridge Stud). 

“Firstly, and most importantly, it's a credit to the horses that David buys. That's where it's won and lost, and the sale ring is the winning post in our book and we really look forward to the Karaka sales.

“To be fair to her, she (Probabeel) shouldn't be doing the things that she's doing. She's 16/16.1hh, no two-year-old form in her family, and a November foal, so to see her win these races, drawn the outside and win going away, we're really excited and she's got a bit of class about her for sure.” 

Having won the race aboard Melody Belle in 2017, and Avantage last year, rider Opie Bosson again got the job done with seemingly consummate ease. In unrivalled scenes at Ellerslie, Bosson returned to scale aboard the winner to chants from the Boys Get Paid Syndicate who had invested a substantial sum on Probabeel.

“I had the right horses in front of me to take me into the race and, geez, she's just got a turn of foot this filly and she'll get better and better as a three-year-old,” Bosson said. “She's such a laidback filly and you wouldn't think she was a two-year-old cantering to the start, but once she turns the gears on there's a lot of power there.”

Owned by Brendan Lindsay MNZM & Jo Lindsay at Cambridge Stud, Probabeel was purchased as a yearling by David Ellis for $380,000, from the draft of Waikato Stud, at the 2018 Karaka Book 1 Sale.

“It's an absolute thrill to win this race for Brendan and Jo,” Ellis said. “They're doing an amazing job at Cambridge Stud. They cemented their holding in the industry when buying the time-honoured nursery from Sir Patrick and Justine, Lady Hogan, and it shows their passion for the racing industry and that they're in it for the long haul. It really is fantastic and a great result for our whole breeding industry.

“She was a beautiful yearling and to see Jamie trifecta the race is just an amazing achievement. We are all very proud and very emotional. Jamie is a young guy, still in his twenties, and it just shows if you're young and want to dedicate yourself to the job and you've got some ability, prepared to really work hard, then the sky's the limit. 

Probabeel was strapped by Teina Walters. 

Photo credit - www.racimages.co.nz

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