Te Akau Monday Update

David writes:

Well, what an absolutely massive week it has been for our family.

I honestly can't describe just how proud and humbled we feel. Karyn and I have received hundreds of text messages, emails, phone calls and messages of support from people right throughout New Zealand, Australia and beyond, and we are incredibly grateful to every person who has taken the time to contact us.

I have tried to personally reply to as many messages as possible because every one of them has meant a great deal. The support, kindness and generosity shown to us has been overwhelming and something we will never forget.

While the King's Birthday Honour recognises an individual's contribution, I have always believed that anything worthwhile is always achieved as part of a team. I share this recognition with Karyn, our family, our team current and prior, our owners, breeders, friends, industry colleagues and, of course, the wonderful horses that have made this journey possible. It has been a very humbling experience and I feel deeply honoured and appreciative of the wonderful people that make up part of this all.

Adding to what was already an extraordinary week, was the privilege of being named King's School Old Boy of the Year for 2026.

I started at King's School in Remuera, Auckland when I was five years old and, about three months ago, received the news that I had been selected for this recognition. The function was held on Thursday evening and it was an incredibly special occasion.

To have so many family members, friends and former schoolmates there to celebrate with me was something I will always treasure. King's School Principal Tony Sissons and his team did an outstanding job and I sincerely thank them for making the evening so memorable.  The special touches, including a copy of my admission form completed by my father when I was only five months' old was just so incredibly thoughtful.  The evening brought back so many memories.

I would also like to congratulate the King's School Young Old Boy of the Year, Marco Giltrap. What an impressive young man he is and a wonderful representative of the next generation, he's going places for sure and is a young New Zealander to watch!

One of the highlights of the evening was having my former teacher and close friend Ian McKinnon there as a guest speaker. Ian had a tremendous influence on my life at a young age and remains someone for whom I have enormous admiration and respect. To share the occasion with him and his wife Jenny, who had travelled from Wellington, was very special.

The whole evening gave me the opportunity to reflect on my life, the people who have helped me along the way and the journey that has brought me to this point. To have the King's School event and the King's Birthday Honours occur in the same week made it, without doubt, one of the most memorable weeks of my life.

Of course, after all the celebrations, it has been straight back to work!

As I dictate this update, I am driving around Te Akau Stud looking at the horses, sheep and cattle while Shanti Brown prepares this for our website and Facebook page.

We have received over 90 millimetres of rain on the farm during the past week and the whole property is looking fantastic. The grass is absolutely flourishing and we are probably heading into winter with as much feed in front of us as I can ever remember having at this time of the year.

Ten days ago we scanned our 2,700 ewes. The mixed-age ewes scanned at 180% in lamb while the two-tooth ewes scanned at 161%, which we were very pleased with.

The ewes that weren't in lamb were sold for $194 and some of our tail lambs sold for $218. We have now sold everything we intended to before winter and won't have anything further to market until Spring.

The stock are all in tremendous condition and with the amount of grass we have available, we are heading into the colder months in a very positive position.

Another exciting aspect of the business at present is the continued interest in the yearlings we have purchased this year.

It has been incredible to see the level of support from both existing owners and many new people choosing to join the Te Akau family. We have now sold approximately 80% of our yearlings and I can tell you that a number of leading Australian trainers commented to me at the recent Magic Millions' National Broodmare Sale that they would love to be in that position. 

We still have final shares available in these promising young horses.  They are now broken in, have undertaken the first part of their early education and the feedback from our training team is hugely positive.

People sometimes forget that horses such as Avantage and Imperatriz still had shares available in September and October following their purchase. Between them they went on to win 19 Group One races, earn more than $9 million in prizemoney and were subsequently sold for in excess of $10 million.

I genuinely believe the yearlings we have purchased this year are as good as any group we have ever bought. Time will ultimately be the judge, but we are extremely excited about what lies ahead and I believe we will look back on this as a vintage year.

If you would like to inspect any of these horses, either at Te Akau Stud or at our Matamata stable, you would be made very welcome. Simply give me a call on 021 925 151 and we can arrange a suitable time.

I would also encourage you to spend some time browsing our website where you can view photos, videos, pedigrees and information on all horses with shares currently available.  If you would like further information, including breaker reports and trainers' updates so far, please feel free to contact Karyn at any time. She will be delighted to help match you with a horse that suits your interests and budget.

Finally, I would once again like to thank everyone for the support shown to Te Akau Racing, Karyn and myself over recent months.

I remain incredibly optimistic about the future of New Zealand racing. There are certainly areas where improvements can still be made, but there are also many exciting opportunities ahead and I believe the industry's future is bright if we all work together towards that common goal.

As is usual at this time of year, we do not have a large number of horses racing as the track turn to winter, but I can tell you our horses have enjoyed wonderful breaks. This mild autumn weather we have enjoyed in the North Island has done them the world of good, it's been a wonderful time to spell horses. I honestly cannot remember seeing them return to training in better order than they have this year. They look fantastic, they are healthy, thriving and ready to embark on their new preparations.

Like all racing enthusiasts, I am already looking forward to the Spring.

Have a great week!