The Shark Bites

A beautifully patient ride by Shafiq enabled Te Akau Shark (4 g Rip Van Winkle - Bak da Chief, by Chief Bearhart) to sprout wings in victory of the $30,000 Hastings - Heart of Hawkes Bay Rating 82 1200 metres on 1 September at Hastings.

Whichever way the field was assessed even excluding the scratching of Gift of Power (Power), Te Akau Shark, given his sheer athleticism, appeared very hard to beat. Any initial fears were eradicated when Shafiq was able to slot him in one off the rail in seventh and the way the race panned out being eight lengths from the leader at the 600m never seemed a problem. Such was the confidence of the rider, he left pushing the button until well inside the final 200m but once given the green light Te Akau Shark flattened out and with some massive strides his class in getting home was huge.

Now the winner of three from four, Te Akau Shark had not raced since finishing fourth to stable-mate Embellish (Savabeel) in the 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) last November at Riccarton. But, he looked very good in two trial wins when preparing to resume and trainer Jamie Richards presented him in outstanding order.

On Slow7 footing, Te Akau Shark ran the 1200 metres in 1:12.5 and returned $2.50 & $1.40 on the NZ TAB tote.

“He relaxed beautifully early in the race and I just wondered at the top of the straight how good we were going, but Suppy's (Shafiq) body language suggested he had a lap full of horse and when he let down he looked quite exciting,” Richards said.

Richards said the plan was to space the races of Te Akau Shark, and has earmarked a return to the same venue on 6 October for the Red Badge Spring Sprint (Gr. 3, 1400m).

“I'd like to give a big thank you to the owners in Sydney, and the owners in New Zealand,” Richards said. “They've allowed Dave (Ellis) to give him a good spell at Te Akau Stud, and while he was a relatively expensive horse from the Ready to Runs, they're going to get their money back with this bloke, big time.

“Spring and autumn we'll just take him quietly, but Chelsea (Burdan) who led him in has done a great job in getting him going and all the staff at home, so thank you to them.”

Following a hat-trick of wins on Thursday at Ashburton: Swing Note (Encosta De Lago), Summer Monsoon (Stratum), and Bak Da Master (Mastercraftsman), a relative of Te Akau Shark, the winning sequence continued for Richards, to have now notched six victories in the first few weeks of the season.

Purchased by David Ellis for $230,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock 2016 Ready to Run Sale, from the draft of Lyndhurst Farm, Te Akau Shark is from Waikato Cup (Gr. 2, 2400m) winner Bak da Chief, and while certainly bred to go further he lacks nothing in a fresh state over shorter trips.

“That win by Te Akau Shark was very, very impressive,” Ellis said. “And it's a great example of the team effort we have. Jamie has done a great job, Opie (Bosson) has ridden all his work, including the two trial wins, and he said to me: “Dave, he just wins. There's nothing that will beat him”, and as usual Opie's judgement was spot on. He's getting his weight down and it won't be long before he's back riding race day.

“The horse was beautifully ridden by Suppy. He has a wonderful trait of getting them into the straight and balancing the horse, getting them onto the right leg before he goes for it, and he learnt that from riding with Joe Moreira as a kid in Singapore. It's something that a lot of jockeys don't understand today, that it's incredibly important to get a horse on the right leg before you go for it, and Suppy just had that horse flying at the finish.

“All the staff has done a great job with him, and it's great because the owners allowed us to give him a long spell and be patient. Patience costs nothing in racing, it's the only thing that's free, and the owners are going to be so well rewarded because he has a big future, I think.

“So, we're all thrilled and Jamie has now had 11 runners for six wins, quite an unbelievable start to his career and what a strike rate. Jamie has been working incredibly hard, long hours, and it's just so rewarding for everybody when these results come.”

Unfortunate in some respects, owner Chris Russell, his wife Katrina, and son Ethan, had arrived from Australia for the race but a flight cancellation in Auckland left them somewhat stranded, before they headed to Te Akau Stud.

“They were all dressed in their tangerine, beautifully attired, so they came to the farm instead and watched the race with us,” said Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM.

“It was fantastic,” said Russell, of the win. “We planned to see it in person, but I'll take this and it's certainly not a bad consolation prize to be out with Dave & Karyn and it's very exciting. It's nice to be on the farm and we'll have a glass of champagne now. It was a great ride by Shafiq. He looked after him in the straight and just pushed the button at the right time. I'm pretty lucky to have him as my first foray back into racing, especially with Dave & Karyn, it's fantastic.

Russell has quite the racing background. “My Dad and Granddad were bookmakers back in the U.K., and I've had a few horses over the years in Melbourne, when I was younger. Through Steve (fellow owner Steve Mace), getting into Te Akau Shark was the first one with Te Akau. We have Camelot horse You're Welcome, and also Baby Shark, the younger brother of Te Akau Shark.

“So we're ramping up our interests and having a great experience with Te Akau.”

Te Akau Shark was strapped by Chelsea Burdan.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz