Te Akau's Strong Hand on Travis Day

Raceform's Richard Edmunds reports - Headline

Te Akau holds strong hand on Travis Stakes Day - Gr.2 Travis Stakes contender Qali Al Farrasha (main picture) is part of a strong Te Akau Racing contingent at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Te Akau Racing will be represented by horses from across the age and experience spectrum on Saturday’s big afternoon of feature autumn racing at Te Rapa.

The headline act is the multiple Group One placegetter Qali Al Farrasha, who will bring her five-year-old season to a close in the Gr.2 Travis Stakes.

The Almanzor mare is the highest-rated runner in the field at 102, but has had an up-and-down season. She won the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes at Pukekohe in November, beating subsequent Group One winners Provence and Jaarffi. Since then she has run fourth in the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes, fifth in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic, sixth in the Gr.1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic, fourth in the Gr.2 Japan Trophy and 10th in the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

Co-trainer Sam Bergerson told RaceForm this week that the latter could be described as a better performance than the result might suggest.

“She just got too far back on a track that was tending to favour on-speed horses,” Bergerson said. “We didn’t think her run was too bad, and that 10th placing doesn’t really reflect the quality of her performance.

“We’ve been happy with her since then and looking forward to giving her this opportunity. Our thinking was that a lot of the big guns would probably have been turned out by now, so this race might be a good way for her to finish up her campaign.

“She’s probably the class horse of the field, with that Group One form on the board over the last couple of years, and she gets her chance under the weight-for-age conditions. We think she’ll appreciate the step up to 2000 metres, especially if the weather forecast is correct and the track dries out a bit from its current rating (Heavy8 on Wednesday morning).” 

Bergerson and his training partner Mark Walker are also looking forward to the Gr.3 Windsor Park Stud Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes for the sprinting three-year-olds, in which they will be represented by the resuming Drops Of God and King’s English, while blue-blooded filly Avantaggia is on the ballot.

“It’s an incredibly good field and a lot of it will come down to having the right run,” Bergerson said.

Drops Of God began her career in the summer with wins in her first two starts, then ran a last-start third behind subsequent Gr.1 Vinery Stud Stakes winner Belle Cheval in the Gr.3 Almanzor Trophy.

“That was a super run in the Almanzor, which is an extremely strong form race,” Bergerson said. “She had to do a bit of early work from her wide gate.

“We freshened her up after that and have brought her back up for this, with a really good exhibition gallop at Ellerslie last Saturday to top her off. She’s flying at home and probably headlines our runners in the race.”

King’s English also put together back-to-back wins leading into the Almanzor, but he beat only one runner home in that feature sprint on Karaka Millions night.

“His two wins were really good, but the quick back-up into the Almanzor probably didn’t really suit him,” Bergerson said.

“He’s had a good freshen-up. We’ve paired him with Drops Of God through a lot of their prep work for this. She probably had the edge on him in their gallop at Ellerslie, but the blinkers go on for the race on Saturday, which will sharpen him up.

“Going into his races fresh seems to work well for him, and he’s really furnished and is a different horse to what he was in January, so he’s an intriguing runner.”

The stable’s potential third runner is last-start winner Avantaggia, a daughter of Te Akau’s nine-time Group One winner Avantage.

“Hopefully she sneaks into the field off the ballot, we’d love the opportunity for her to race for some black type,” Bergerson said. “She’s lightly raced and getting better and better.”

Te Akau will also be represented in the Beyond Water 2YO by first-starter System Of Play. The Ole Kirk colt was bought by David Ellis for $480,000 from the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka in November.

“He’s a lovely colt,” Bergerson said. “We were really impressed with his trial win at Ellerslie (on April 7). He did everything well – he settled nicely, then whipped through the field and attacked the line. Opie (Bosson) was very complimentary about that performance.

“A few horses in this field have an experience edge on him, but we think he’s talented enough to make his presence felt.”