Te Akau Horses Named Award Finalists

Two Te Akau horses have been nominated as finalists in three categories for the 2015/16 NZ Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards -

Unbeaten Group 1 and Listed winner Heroic Valour features as a finalist for the Champion 2YO of the Year while dual Group 1 and Group 3 winning 3YO Xtravagant is one of eight finalists for the Champion 3YO category and has also been selected as one of three finalists for the title of Champion Sprinter (up to 1500m).

Te Akau Racing is proud of both of these smart colts - Heroic Valour who of course is unbeaten, winning both the Group 1 Diamond Stakes and the Listed Matamata Slipper and became Fastnet Rock's first global Group 1 winning two year old.

Xtravagant not only beat his own age group by 8.5 lengths in the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas, he also beat a top line up of New Zealand's best open class horses when winning the Group 1 NRM Sprint by another 8 length margin - impressive against the class of older horses he faced.  He of course completed his outstanding season when romping home in the Group 3 Cambridge Breeders' Stakes.

We have our fingers crossed that Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards will be nominated as Trainer of the Year finalists in due course - with 103 wins, they lead the Trainers' Premiership and their 10 Group and Listed wins include four at Group 1 level, quite an achievement by the whole team!

Here is the full list as released today - courtesy of The Informant:

The strength of the current New Zealand three-year-old crop is highlighted with the first release of finalists for the 2015-16 Horse of the Year awards.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) yesterday announced the finalists for five of the six horses-in-training categories. The finalists for Jumper of the Year will be confirmed in July.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner at the Langham Hotel in Auckland on Sunday August 7.

Eight finalists, all of them Group One winners, were selected for the three-year-old category, reflecting the impact the New Zealand three-year-olds made in classic races on both sides of the Tasman.

Champion two-year-old: Heroic Valour, Luna Rossa, Sacred Elixir, Xiong Feng.

Champion three-year-old: Fanatic, Provocative, Rangipo, Risque, Sofia Rosa, Tavago, Valley Girl, Xtravagant.

Champion sprinter (up to 1500m): Ryan Mark, Turn Me Loose, Xtravagant.

Champion middle-distance horse (1501m-2100m):  Addictive Habit, Julinsky Prince, Kawi, Turn Me Loose, Volkstok'n'barrell.

Champion stayer (2101m and further): Benzini, Jimmy Mac, Mongolian Khan.

All finalists in the six categories are eligible for the Horse of the Year award.

The finalists for the Owner of the Year have also been confirmed and are: Adrian Bull, Bromley Bloodstock, Denise Howell, JML Bloodstock, Lincoln Farms, NZ Thoroughbred Holdings, The Oaks Stud, Raffles Dancers (NZ), Kelvin Tyler, Sir Peter Vela.