Unveiling Our Finished Cranbourne Barn!
20 January, 2025
Te Akau Racing's state-of-the-art, brand new stable at Cranbourne in Victoria is now complete.
One of the best reasons to own horses with Te Akau Racing is our seamless ability to transition horses to the Australian level. This gives us an edge - not only in securing the best bloodstock but we also provide owners with access to the Australian races through our Trans-Tasman stable. We are primed and ready to ensure your horses compete at the highest level.
When Te Akau Australia was established in September 2023, 20 boxes were built for the team and stage two, bringing our total to 70 boxes, is now fully operational
Te Akau's Cranbourne team, headed by trainer Mark Walker and assistant trainer Ben Gleeson could not be more thrilled with the modern, spacious and designed to specification stabling facility.
When Te Akau decided to establish an Australian arm, many locations went under the microscope, and Cranbourne well and truly ticked off every box with its magnificent training complex. It provides a gateway for horses and owners to compete in the very lucrative Victorian racing scene, both metropolitan (city) and country, thus providing easy access to a large number of tracks across Victoria and beyond.
Te Akau's Cranbourne stable is not only the home to horses purchased and syndicated by David Ellis CNZM and Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM, but the stable also welcomes private owners. We are now training for many top Australian breeders and studs, as well as individual owners.
The Cranbourne expansion adds to the Te Akau stables at Matamata, and Riccarton in New Zealand.
“The point of difference with Cranbourne is that it’s a state of the art, purpose-built, training centre,” said trainer Mark Walker.
“As well as the main training tracks they’ve got sand dune tracks with a hill and many lanes. It means the horses are very relaxed in what is like a country/beach environment. Horses can train on different tracks and it provides a lot of variation and stimulus for our horses.
“We have a great equine swimming pool, walkers, treadmills, and an ultra modern veterinary clinic and hospital is currently being constructed there too - everything about the facility is just world-class.
“The proximity to so many tracks around Melbourne makes it a great experience for owners to have their horses trained there, in addition to the great prize money.”
Te Akau Australia assistant trainer Ben Gleeson added: “It’s a very efficient, well-run yard. It’s very easy to get the mornings (track work) done and importantly, it is very safe.
“We’re getting support from really good clients, including OTI (a huge horse operation owned by Terry Henderson).”
Walker made a terrific impact in his first season training from the stables at Cranbourne, highlighted by Champion mare Imperatriz, who was a finalist for Victorian Racehorse of the Year, before being crowned Australia's Champion Sprinter for 2023/24. Mark Walker was also finalist for Most Outstanding Training Performance Award, while winning the Cranbourne Training Centre's Best Strike Rate Trainer Award.
Together they certainly created some indelible memories during the 2023/24 racing season, with Imperatriz winning five Group 1 races and a Group 2, while Walker won 24 races, including nine stakes' wins (five Group 1), and he had the best Metropolitan strike rate (4.1) comprising 15 wins from 62 starts.
Purchased forA $360,000 by David Ellis CNZM at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale 2020, from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds, Imperatriz was owned by the Te Akau Invincible Empress Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).
Known affectionately as 'Berri', she captured 10 Group 1 wins among a total of 19, from 27 starts, nearly NZ$7.6 million in prize money. Upon her retirement, her sale of A$6.6 million saw her become the highest priced filly or mare ever sold in the Southern Hemisphere.
Imperatriz is now the reigning NZ Horse of the Year, Ausyralia's Champion Sprinter of the Year and was also twice NZ Champion Sprinter/Miler, as well as Champion 3YO of the Year. She also received the NZTR Award for Outstanding Global Achievement in 2024 - the first equine to ever receive this prestigious honour.
From Te Akau's Cranbourne stable, Walker. also prepared Group 1 Tarzino Trophy winner Skew Wiff to win the Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington; Group 1 Zabeel Classic winner Campionessa to win the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield (Melbourne) downing two former Melbourne Cup winners in the process, while Sans Doute (won four in succession at Flemington, culminating in the Listed Hoysted Stakes.
This season, Group 1 winner and Champion 3YO finalist Quintessa resumed with victory in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield, and Group 2 Eclipse Stakes winner Bellatrix Star recorded a hat-trick of Australian stakes' wins with the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes, Group 3 Scarborough Stakes, and Group 2 Schillaci Stake, while Midnight Blue won the Listed Seymour Cup.
The Te Akau Australia team is preparing horses to race into the new future - some of the yearlings purchased by David Ellis CNZM at the recently completed Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast, available for syndication on the website https://www.teakauracing.com/yearlings-shares, will also be trained at Cranbourne!