Te Akau Midweek Update

David writes:

I wrote this as I was just doing my final drive around the top of Te Akau Stud before heading to Melbourne for Cup Week today, and I have to say the farm is looking in great shape.

We had 7mls of rain on Tuesday, which was certainly welcome, and the stock are doing extremely well.

It's a busy time on the farm, as it always is at this time of year. We are selling our first load of prime steers to Greenlea today, with another load going on Thursday. From there, we expect to send at least two units a week for the next four months.

We have also had all the lambs in and drenched them for the second time. We docked 4,100 lambs in total this year, and in another two and a half weeks they will be shorn and weaned.

The lambs are really starting to do well now, but I have to say it has been a difficult winter and early spring for them. In all my years of farming, I cannot remember having so many frosts. We had nine frosts in just 14 days during August and September, and of course that really holds back the grass growth.

Thankfully, the grass is certainly away now, and it is great to see everything coming on so well. There is nothing quite like seeing the farm looking good, with plenty of grass and the stock thriving.

Turning to the racing, what a fantastic October Te Akau Racing has had!  We have already won 20 races this month, and it has been a terrific effort by Mark, Sam and all our team across New Zealand and Australia.

Saturday was another very exciting day, with a win in Melbourne and three wins in New Zealand, with a fourth New Zealand winner at Te Rapa on Monday. It is always a great thrill when the horses are winning on both sides of the Tasman, and it reflects the hard work being put in by everyone involved.

One of the real highlights was seeing our Sword of State filly Sword of Stars win the Group 3 War Decree Stakes at Riccarton on Saturday - she became our ninth winner of that particular race.  She has now earned her place in a Guineas' tilt, along with our other stable stakes' winning fillies Asturia and Sweetest Thing.

These fillies are giving us an enormous amount to look forward to as we head into New Zealand Cup Week at Riccarton.

We think having three weeks between runs will suit Sword of Stars better, so shed may well run in the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas against the boys, while Asturia and Sweetest Thing will contest the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas on Saturday week, the first day of the NZ Cup Carnival. 

Sword of Stars was bred by Windsor Park Stud. Windsor Park is one of the best studs in the Southern Hemisphere, with an outstanding record stretching back 30 to 40 years. The Schick family has bred and raised so many good horses, and it is always special to win a good race with a horse from such a successful nursery. 

I sent Roddy Schick a text congratulating him on breeding such a good filly, and he replied to say it was his birthday and they were busy celebrating. He told me that the win was the best birthday present he could have received!  I thought that was just fantastic. Those are the sorts of moments that make racing such a wonderful industry to be involved in, and it was a big thrill for our whole team to win fore her owners, but also the Schick family too.

I also thought our three-year-old colt System of Play went a much better race than it might have looked on paper in the Group 2 James and Annie Sarten at Te Rapa on Monday. I think stepping up to 1600 metres with the blinkers on will be right up his alley, so we are planning to also start him in the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas as well.

We have a really nice team of horses heading towards both Saturdays and the midweek Wednesday at Riccarton during Cup Week, and we am very excited about our prospects.

New Zealand Cup Week is one of the best weeks of racing in the country. There is always a wonderful atmosphere in Christchurch, and it is a week that everyone in racing looks forward to. We are certainly looking forward to being part of it again this year.

Another very important milestone I want to highlight is a truly special moment - seeing Michael McNab ride his 1,000th winner in New Zealand aboard our horse Top Shelf.

What a fantastic achievement for Michael, and congratulations to him on reaching such an important milestone in his career.  Michael is riding in sensational form and is leading the Jockeys' Premiership.  He suffered a serious injury and was sidelined for a long time so to see him back, and so determined and in such good form is terrific. 

It is also a big thrill for us to have such a good horse in the stable for Fairdale Stud. Gerald Fell and his family have been great friends of Te Akau Racing for a very long time, and is a family I have enormous admiration for.

When I first started in racing, Fairdale stood Pakistan, who was the best stallion in New Zealand at the time. I have always had a great respect for what the Fell family, Gerald and of course his brother, the late Rex, has achieved in the thoroughbred industry, and Duncan is obviously doing a terrific job running Fairdale Stud today.  A wonderful example of a very successful inter-generational operation.

Karyn and I so enjoy sharing these successes with people who have contributed so much to New Zealand racing over so many years.

There is plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks, and I am particularly excited about the young horses we have coming through.

We still have final, small shares available in five horses that we bought at Karaka, and I would encourage anyone who has been thinking about getting involved to have a good look at them.

Just remember, the final share in Asturia, who is now favourite for the 1000 Guineas, was only sold three months ago!

All five horses have shown plenty in their trackwork, and we believe they are serious chances of developing into racehorses. They are lovely young horses, and we would really enjoy welcoming more owners into them.

The five horses with shares still available are:

Lot 108 – Derryn colt out of Secret Spirit

Lot 152 – Too Darn Hot colt out of Spritz

Lot 337 – Circus Maximus gelding out of Catch Your Idol

Lot 347 – Spirit of Boom colt out of Chenzel

Lot 357 – Proisir filly out of Colerne

If you would like to know more about any of these horses, please contact Karyn at [email protected]. She will be very happy to share the latest stable updates with you.

You can also see all five horses on our website:

https://teakauracing.com/yearlings-shares

Now, I want to share the news about something that happened last night which was one of the biggest thrills of my life.

I attended the Annual General Meeting of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing at Ellerslie Racecourse, and I have to say that Chairman Doug Alderslade ran one of the best AGMs I have ever attended.

What a credit it is to the club to see it being run so well - the Board and the management team really are passionate and so professional in all they do.

But what made the evening particularly special for me was being bestowed with a Life Membership of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing. What an incredible honour, and one that means more to me than I can really put into words.  You see, Ellerslie is where my love of racing really began.

I first went there in 1971, when I was at Flockhouse. We had Easter off, so a couple of friends and I decided to go to the races at Ellerslie. I went along with $12 in my pocket and came home with $88! I remember thinking, gee, this is the easiest way of making a dollar of all time!  

Well, I was hooked on racing from that day on, and I certainly haven't lost that enthusiasm in the 55 years since.

Then, in 1979, I won my first race at Ellerslie as an owner with a horse called Magnum. It was her second win, and I can still remember what an enormous thrill it was.

It was an on-course-only race day, which meant that if you wanted to have a bet, you had to be there at the racecourse. There was a massive crowd, and the atmosphere was just incredible. To win at Ellerslie for the first time was something I will never forget.

Then, in 1986, I won my first Group One at Ellerslie with Cosmetique, ridden by Gary Grylls, Craig Grylls' father.  Cosmetique beat Waverley Star, that day - one of the best horses ever to race in New Zealand, by a nose.

I can still remember every part of that day, and the excitement of winning that first Group One has never left me. So when I think back to that young fellow arriving at Ellerslie in 1971 with $12 in his pocket, and then think about being made a Life Member of the Club all these years later, it really is very humbling.

Racing has given me a wonderful life. I have met so many great people, made lifelong friendships, and been lucky enough to be involved with some extraordinary horses.

To receive this honour at the very racecourse where it all began for me is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.  My sincere thanks to the Chairman, Board and everyone at Auckland Thoroughbred Racing. I am incredibly humbled and grateful.

Now it is off to Melbourne for what promises to be another exciting week.

I am really looking forward to getting out to our Cranbourne stable to see the horses and catch up with all the team who work so hard for us there.  It is always good to spend time with them, see how the horses are progressing and talk through our plans for the weeks ahead.

We have Derby Day at Flemington on Saturday, and we have our I Am Invincible filly I Am Aria running. I bought her in Sydney for A$375,000, and she looks pretty exciting, and is already multiple-times stakes' placed so we are certainly looking forward to cheering her on, despite her tricky draw!.

It is a wonderful time of year to be involved in racing, with Melbourne Cup Week and New Zealand Cup Week bringing so much excitement on both sides of the Tasman.

Good luck to all our owners with runners this weekend. Thank you, as always, for your tremendous support and for being part of everything we do at Te Akau.

And, as always, GO THE TANGERINE!