The record-breaking Matamata-based Richards is also regularly at pains to emphasise the results on the track are a vivid reflection of the hard graft put in by the Te Akau team behind the scenes. Any success he enjoys is shared equally by the staff.
The systems in place are again evident during a stellar 2020/21 term that has produced 147 winners, including 35 at Group and Listed level, to already surpass the previous-best mark of 143 set by Cambridge duo Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in 2017/18.
“It’s been a great season and everybody has been doing their jobs well, right from the foremen or assistant foremen, trackwork riders, the ground staff and to picking up manure in the boxes. Everybody has their part to play,” Richards said.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about the team and everybody else around us. It’s been really hard work, but very enjoyable and we’ll find time to have a bit of a drink and celebrate at some stage.”
“It’s not just about me, it’s about the team and everybody else around us.” – Jamie Richards
Richards credited the business acumen and staff recruitment approach of the operation’s Principal David Ellis for assembling quality personnel.
“You’ve got to have the right people and Dave has made a concerted effort over the last four or five seasons to get the right people, whether they be young people or someone who has previously trained and looking to pull back a bit for more income security,” he said.
“There’s a wide spectrum of people here and most importantly five or six people who could train in their own right. When you have those people with you it’s a big help.”
David Ellis and Jamie Richards
Richards was born into a racing family as his father Paul was a successful jockey and trainer before joining the Te Akau operation and mother Leanne also has a lengthy association with the industry and is a past President of the Otago Racing Club.
“I was born and bred in Dunedin, went to Otago Boys’ High School and rode work in the mornings. I went to Otago University and got a degree in Accounting and Management,” he said.
“I was always really keen on racing and breeding. At one stage, I was pretty keen to leave school and be an apprentice, but Mum and Dad said I would get too big so I went on to get an education.
“At one stage, I was pretty keen to leave school and be an apprentice (jockey), but Mum and Dad said I would get too big so I went on to get an education.” – Jamie Richards
“I did a bit of travelling and worked a summer for Mark Walker at Sir Peter Vela’s property under Steven Ramsay and a summer at Flemington at Mark Kavanagh’s place just after Shocking won the G1 Melbourne Cup.
“I was then lucky enough to get the Sunline Scholarship through the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and that was pretty important in the scheme of things.”
Richards spent 10 weeks each at Coolmore in Ireland, Cheveley Park in England and at Taylor Made in the United States.
On his return, he spent a period with New Zealand Bloodstock and at Waikato Stud before taking up the role as Te Akau’s racing manager.
“I had got to know Dave’s daughter Julia-Rose at university and that’s how I got the connection, it’s a small world,” he said. “I was 23 then and have been here seven or eight years now.”
Training partnership
In 2015, Richards joined Stephen Autridge in a training partnership and three years later took solo charge of the stable.
“Steve wanted to take it a bit easier and I stepped up and took over and in terms of training, he certainly has been a big influence and got me going,” he said.
“I still ask him on the odd occasion about getting a horse ready for a race – am I doing too much or not enough and Mark (Walker) has also been a great supporter.
“Obviously, I owe a lot to Dave and he likes things done a particular way. We’ve naturally had a few mishaps, but we get on top of those pretty quickly.
“Dave is a great loser but he does love winning. Whether the horses are winning at Ellerslie on a Saturday or at Woodville on a Thursday, it’s all about placing the horses as best as we can for the owners.
“It works well and there’s a big team of people here. The growth over the last five years has been major and we’re very fortunate we have the right people.”
Impressive record
In his relatively short training career, Richards has recorded 33 Group 1 wins in this own right and 13 with Autridge.
Another hugely valued member of the Te Akau team is jockey Opie Bosson, while Richards’ partner Danielle Johnson has also enjoyed multiple Group 1 successes in the tangerine and blue silks.
“We believe Opie gives us 2l before the gates have even opened and are very lucky to have him as our stable rider. We’ve also got a great vet in Douglas Black and Ronan Costello is also very important in the vet work and really good farriers in Gareth Ellis and Kim Hughes,” Richards said.
“It’s a big team of people who get the horses ready for us from the rehab farms to the beach and we use other people around Matamata and Cambridge.
“We have built important relationships and that includes people like John Thompson at Randwick. He’s been great and we keep the horses there when they go over and he always finds gallop mates for us. It’s an industry that is built on relationships.”
Family support
A tight knit family unit has also been central to Richards’ story of success.
“Mum and Dad have been a massive part of it and my sister Libby has as well. She was living in Auckland and working at a bank and she was on a good wicket, but the cost of living was very expensive compared to Matamata,” he said.
“She took a cut and moved out to be closer to Mum and Dad and save to buy a house, which she’s done, and she’s now our Racing and Operations Manager and Dad has obviously been a great sounding board.
Libby Richards
“He (Dad) provides another set of eyes and ears around the traps, whether that be in the mornings or at the races and when he’s over in Australia when I can’t get there.
“Mum is heavily involved as well and if it’s been a long day and I haven’t had time to get a feed I can whip out there for a meal before I sneak off to get an early night to get ready for the next day.
“Lena Jones runs the office and pretty much runs me.” – Jamie Richards
“Lena Jones runs the office and pretty much runs me. She sends me an email each night with a list of what nominations we need to make, who we need to talk to and what’s happening the next day.”
Lena Jones, Libby Richards and Nicole Shailer
Richards is also a major player come yearling sales time working alongside Ellis and Walker in securing ongoing replacements for the stable.
Individual highlights through such a rewarding season are difficult to single out, but success at two domestic meetings has become a focus.
“We’ve had 13 Group 1s here and a couple in Australia. It’s hard to pinpoint anything, but I guess when Melody Belle won the G1 Zabeel Classic and when Sword Of State won the Group 1 2-year-old race was one,” Richards said.
“Karaka Million night and the Auckland carnival are the two big times for us. Although we didn’t win the Karaka Million 2YO Classic and the 3YO Classic, we went close.”
On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau) won the juvenile feature while Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) finished runner-up in the 3-year-old event.
Te Akau has won the last five editions of the 2-year-old race, included among its haul is Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), who created history when she became the first horse to complete the double with success in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic.
Gallery: Some of Te Akau Racing's recent successful runners
