Ted to Work with Te Akau

Ted McLachlan, a student of racing with lifetime involvement in the sport, is adding Te Akau apprentice Chelsea Burdan (19) to his Jockey Agent roster for the new season.

McLachlan guided Jason Waddell to a record-breaking season and Burdan will add to the jockeys he manages.

Fluent in Japanese, Burdan has
notched 41 wins since a winning debut aboard Lady Zeraph (Makfi) in September
2018 at Waipukurau. She has twice bagged a treble of wins on race day, and
finishes her apprenticeship in 2021.

“Chelsea approached me earlier in
the year and I've agreed to manage her rides,” McLachlan said.

“I started off with Jason (Waddell) and he's set personal records this season with 11 stakes winners, including four Group Ones.

“So, with an up-and-coming apprentice in Chelsea, I've got two very good riders. Chelsea is very promising and a good confident rider. She is down to a two-kilo claim, now, so that's evidence of her ability and I think she's shown enough at this stage to suggest she'll go on and be a very good rider. I'm looking forward to it.

“She is a confident young lady and not afraid to ask questions. She talks to (Riding Master) Noel Harris a lot, trying to learn and get better, and I think if you keep asking questions you're always learning.”

Not much escapes McLachlan
regarding the domestic racing scene in New Zealand, and the emergence of Jamie
Richards since becoming sole trainer for Te Akau is no exception.

“It's absolutely phenomenal what
Jamie has achieved, training by himself and getting the results has been
outstanding,” McLachlan said. “He is very astute, thoughtful, has clear designs
on what he wants to achieve and he's probably overachieving at this stage when
you consider what he's accomplished in the last two seasons.

“I congratulated him when Bak Da Master (below) became his 100^th winner for the season a couple of weeks ago, and after getting 98 wins last season it was good to see him get to 100.

“The whole secret to successful trainers is being able to assess a horse's ability and placing it accordingly. Placing a horse to advantage, you've just got to look at someone like Chris Waller, and Jamie does an outstanding job with it, too, and it brings about the success in racing.”

McLachlan has also been an integral part of Boys Get Paid and even has his own app, Ted's Treasure, which previews all North Island gallop races and provides tips. The content appears on the BGP website and Facebook and also available through the app.

“It is time consuming but helps me in the role of analyzing form as an agent. Assessing the form is a key component, along with good communication and creating relationships with the trainers. You never know where the next champion is going to come from.

“Combining everything keeps me
very busy and it's all about management of my time and the jockeys and doing my
best to get them on winning horses. Managing Jason and Chelsea is ideal.”

McLachlan grew up in Wairarapa,
but more recently has lived in the Waikato, and in addition to his racing work
he is Vice-President of the Te Aroha Jockey Club.

“Dad (Ted Snr.) was an apprentice
in the 1950s, then a trainer and Stud Master at Willowbank Stud just out of
Eketahuna, and committee man at Woodville. I was going to the races in a
pushchair,” he said.

“I've grown up in racing and Noel
Harris and I became friends in our early teens. His brother, Johnny Harris, was
my Best Man, and Gary Phillips was my Groomsman. So, I grew up with all the
jockeys around Woodville, and Johnny was Champion Apprentice.”

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