Te Akau Horse of the Year Nominees

Nominee finalists have been released for the 2025/26 New Zealand Horse of the Year Awards, ahead of voting by a panel.  Te Akau horses and humans again feature - and we congratulate them all!

The winners will be announced at a black-tie awards dinner held at the New Zealand International Convention Centre on Sunday 6 September in Auckland. 

Winners of 82 titles, and having won Horse of the Year in five of the past seven years, with dual winners Melody Belle (Commands) and Probabeel (Savabeel), and most recently with Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), Te Akau has finalists in Champion Two-Year-Old, Champion Three-Year-Old, Champion Jumper, Owner of the Year, Trainer of the Year, and Jockey of the Year, while each equine finalist has a chance to be named Horse of the Year.

Champion Two-Year-Old 

Te Akau has won 12 Champion Two-Year-Old titles, including last year with La Dorada (Super Seth), who became its eighth Karaka Million 2YO and ninth Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes winner.

For Champion Two-Year-Old, Te Akau is represented by Lara Antipova (Russian Revolution) and Seize The Day (Snitzel).

Unbeaten in all four starts, Lara Antipova became the ninth winner for Te Akau in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m), after Return To Conquer (Snitzel), who is now preparing to stand his first season at Waikato Stud, recorded a milestone 100th Group One victory for Te Akau in 2025.

Lara Antipova also provided the stable's sixth win in the Group 2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) and 11th victory in the Group 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). 

Owned by the Fortuna Lara Antipova Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), she was purchased for A$100,000 by Sir David Ellis and Fortuna Racing, from the draft of Vinery Stud, at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. 

Winning two of his three starts, including a Group One, exciting colt Seize The Day provided Te Akau with its 10th Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and was another feather in the cap for Te Akau principal Sir David Ellis who had either bought or bred nine of the 10 winners.

Possessing the pedigree of a future stallion, Seize The Day was purchased by Ellis for A$600,000 at the 2025 Magic Millions' Gold Coast Yearling Sales, from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud, and is owned by the Te Akau 2025 Magic Colts' Breeding Syndicate (Mgr: Lady Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).

Champion Three-Year-Old 

The only New Zealand trained Group One winner this season in Australia, Belle Cheval (Savabeel) revenged a very narrow defeat in the $4 million NZB Kiwi (Restricted Listed, 1500m) when winning the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney, which completed her rise throughout the three-year-old season.  

In addition, she won the Group 3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and Group 3 Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m), and also placed in the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas (1600m).

Bred by Archer Investments, Belle Cheval is owned by D L Archer, S C Archer, N N Micarone & D J Wright.

Trainer of the Year

Assured of their 17th Trainers’ Premiership, with a tally of 135 wins, Te Akau trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson made it seven consecutive Premierships for the stable. 

While Walker notched his 13th and Bergerson his third, maintaining an unbeaten record since he began training in 2023, the pair had a 33-win buffer over second place. 

In 2024/25 the pair recorded 131 wins (18 stakes' wins) and established a new record of $9.27 million in prize money, while last season the 135 wins, which included 19 stakes' victories, amassed $8.28 million in prize money. 

As a comparison, to illustrate the increased prize money on offer in New Zealand, the Te Akau record-breaking season of 203 wins and $8.25 million in stakes money was established by Walker in 2022-23, who was then joined in partnership by Bergerson to achieve 169 wins and $8 million in stakes money in 2023-24. 

Once again, the Te Akau stable at Riccarton, managed by assistant trainer Hunter Durrant, played a significant role with 46 wins, including six stakes’ wins, which resulted in winning the South Island Trainer of the Year for the third consecutive season.

While Walker, who heads the Te Akau stable at Cranbourne (Melbourne), recorded 30 wins for the season, of which three were stakes' wins, including two Group Ones. 

Champion Jumper

Winner of the Australian Grand National Steeplechase (4500m), which included a history-making trifecta for Te Akau trainer Mark Walker, Leaderboard (Street Cry) is a worthy nominee after winning the prestigious race.

Leaderboard defeated stable-mates The Mighty Spar (Savabeel) and Prismatic (Savabeel) in the Grand National, after the same trio recorded six wins (two wins apiece), four seconds, from 13 starts over fences during the previous season, and Walker, who ticked over 2000 career wins in 2024, had them in terrific form.  Outstanding results such as this saw Mark Walker named Jumps' Trainer of the Year.

Owned by the Fortuna Leaderboard Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin), he was purchased in October 2018 at the Tattersalls Sale in U.K., and his 12 wins yielded over $1 million in earnings. He has now been retired a happy and healthy horse.

Jockey of the Year

In February at Te Rapa, Te Akau stable rider Opie Bosson ONZM rode his 100th Group One winner.

Bosson joined Jim Cassidy and James McDonald as the only other Kiwis to achieve the feat. 

Apprenticed to Te Akau when aged 14, Bosson (46) the six-time Champion Jockey rode his 1000th winner in 2010, surpassed Hall of Fame legend Lance O’Sullivan (62 Group One wins) in 2019, and in 2023 he recorded his 2000th victory, was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM), and was also inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, the same year in which Te Akau dual Horse of the Year Melody Belle (Commands) was inducted, whom Bosson combined with for six of her national record 14 Group One wins. 

Coincidentally, the century by Bosson arrived within a year of Te Akau winning its 100th Group One race, when Return To Conquer (Snitzel) won the Sistema Stakes (Gr. 1, 1200m) in March 2025 at Ellerslie. 

Owner of the Year

The finalists the following who are all supporters of Te Akau with horses currently trained in the stable: Archer Family, Cambridge Stud, John Elstob and Denise Bassett, Gerry Harvey, JML Bloodstock, Jomara Bloodstock, Tony Rider, and Yulong Investments

Overall, Te Akau has won 82 titles at the New Zealand Horse of the Year awards, including 24 horse awards and 22 awards for people in the past eight years. 

New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards

Date:           Sunday 6 September 2026

Time:           5.00pm

Location:     New Zealand International Convention Centre, Auckland CBD

Dress:          Black Tie

Tickets:       $250.00pp, or $2,250.00 for a table (10)