Te Akau Thursday Update

David writes:

We are all waiting in anticipation to see if the rain that is forecast in the next few days comes - the farm is quite dry but we still have lots of grass but it is starting to get dry and the northern area of the Waikato is close to being in drought.

The horses are however really thriving and are happy and settled - they love this weather!

The yearlings we bought at the sale are selling really quickly and we have lots of new owners who we are looking forward  to welcoming into the Te Akau team.

One of the reasons that I bought so many horses this year is because we intend to try and have them racing in Group 1 races not just in New Zealand and Singapore but also in  Australia.

For example at the Sydney Autumn  Carnival, the George Ryder is now worth $1 million, the Golden Slipper $3.5 million, the BMW $1.5 million, the Doncaster Hcp $3 million, the TJ Smith $2.5 million,  the Derby $2 million,  the Sires' Produce $1 million, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes $4 million, the Sydney Cup $1 million, the Randwick Stakes $500,000, the Sovereign Stakes $500,000, the All Aged Stakes $400,000 and the Champagne Stakes $400,000.

These are all races we will try to win in the near future and you have to buy the good yearlings to win them.

On Friday night Karyn and I are attending the Racing Hall of Fame dinner in Hamilton and then we go racing on Saturday.

We are really looking forward to racing at Te Rapa on Saturday for their biggest day of the year with two Group 1 races and a Group 2.  Te Akau will be represented by Aspen in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes and Spellbinder in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies' Classic.

The Waikato Racing Club has terrific fields on Saturday and I hope we will see you there!