In a career spanning just over seven seasons, Richards has soared to almost 700 wins – more than 120 of them at black-type level. He has won 50 Group 1 races, including with trans-Tasman stars Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), Gingernuts (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}) and Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}).
Richards has made a one-act affair of the New Zealand trainers’ premiership in each of the last two years, winning a record-breaking 160 races in the 2020/21 season, and has trained an astonishing five consecutive winners of the R. Listed Karaka Million 2YO.
Jamie Richards
Now the world stage awaits, and Richards plans to relocate to Hong Kong in May to begin his preparations for the 2022/23 season. He will join a trainers’ list that also features fellow Kiwi Paul O’Sullivan along with Australians John Size, David Hayes and David Hall.
“Being invited to train in Hong Kong is an incredible honour, and it’s a dream come true to challenge myself against some of the world’s best,” Richards said on Friday.
“I owe so much to David (Ellis), Mark (Walker) and Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) – there is no doubt that without Te Akau I would not be where I am today or have this international opportunity. They believed in me, mentored me, and surrounded me with a truly amazing team, as well as the very best of bloodstock, enabling me to develop my skill and passion as a trainer.
“I owe so much to David (Ellis), Mark (Walker) and Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) – there is no doubt that without Te Akau I would not be where I am today or have this international opportunity." - Jamie Richards
“I am a proud New Zealander, and I won’t forget how New Zealand and leading Te Akau Racing has shaped me. I can’t wait to fly the Kiwi flag and be the very best ambassador possible for our industry in Hong Kong.”
The Hong Kong invitation is a special pre-Christmas gift for Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis, who took Richards under his wing fresh out of university and has taken enormous pride and satisfaction from the remarkable young horseman’s ever-expanding list of achievements.
“It is an honour that Jamie Richards has been invited to train in Hong Kong on the back of his success with Te Akau Racing,” Ellis said.
David Ellis and Jamie Richards
“Jamie commenced his training career in May 2015 with Te Akau, and I am certainly very proud that his and the stable’s success has been recognised internationally. It’s an incredible and rare opportunity for this young New Zealander, and we all wish him every success as he pursues his dream of being the world’s best trainer.
“I sat down with Jamie in 2014 when he was Te Akau’s racing manager and asked him what he wanted to do in the industry. He told me he wanted to be a trainer. I said, ‘If you want to be a successful trainer, work hard and give your career your heart and soul. If you do, I will support you every step of the way and give you every opportunity.’ Jamie has a great work ethic, he took up that challenge, and the rest is history.
"I said, ‘If you want to be a successful trainer, work hard and give your career your heart and soul. If you do, I will support you every step of the way and give you every opportunity.’" - David Ellis
“The results the Te Akau team has achieved are well known. Last season we broke every New Zealand record – wins (160), stakes wins (36 in New Zealand, four in Australia), Group 1 wins (15) and prizemoney won for owners (almost NZ$8 million).”
Richards will be accompanied in his Hong Kong adventure by partner Danielle Johnson, who was New Zealand's champion jockey last season with 151 wins - 60 more than her nearest rival.
Danielle Johnson | Image courtesy of NZ Racing Desk
“Danielle will be coming to Hong Kong, at this stage just as my partner, and we will do it together,” Richards said. “The future is very exciting for Danielle and I, and it is going to be a wonderful opportunity to set us up hopefully for the rest of our lives.”
Walker comes full-circle
Richards’ departure for Hong Kong leaves big shoes to fill in the all-conquering New Zealand operation, but a special homecoming means that Te Akau’s Matamata stables will be left in very familiar hands.
Mark Walker enjoyed a similarly meteoric rise as Te Akau’s trainer between 1998 and 2010, winning more than 850 races and five New Zealand trainers’ premierships.
Mark Walker | Image courtesy of NZ Racing Desk
He saddled outstanding mare Princess Coup (Encosta De Lago) for back-to-back wins in the NZ$2 million G1 Kelt Capital S. in 2007 and 2008, along with placings across the Tasman in the G1 Australian Cup, Ranvet S., Tancred S., Mackinnon S. and Caulfield Cup.
Walker’s other elite performers included Distinctly Secret (NZ) (Distinctly North {USA}), Maroofity (NZ) (Maroof {USA}), Tell A Tale (Tale Of The Cat {USA}) and multiple Group 1 winners and sires Darci Brahma (NZ) and King’s Chapel.
Walker has trained in Singapore for the last decade, adding another four premierships to his CV.
Gallery: Some of the elite performers trained by Mark Walker
He has maintained his involvement with Te Akau’s New Zealand operation as a partner in the powerhouse syndication business, and now he is looking forward to resuming his hands-on involvement back on home soil.
“I am very excited to be returning to New Zealand to work with quality bloodstock again, alongside a world-class team of people,” Walker said.
“I enjoy educating yearlings and seeing them develop into racehorses. In Singapore we have ‘ready-made’ racehorses, so returning to work with these youngsters, as well as the calibre of Te Akau’s older horses, will give me enormous satisfaction.
"In Singapore we have ‘ready-made’ racehorses, so returning to work with these youngsters, as well as the calibre of Te Akau’s older horses, will give me enormous satisfaction." - Mark Walker
“I have remained closely involved in Te Akau’s New Zealand operation while being in Singapore, and with the quality of horses David buys, it’s wonderful to be involved with the New Zealand industry again.”
Walker is another Ellis protégé, having worked at Te Akau since leaving school, and Ellis is delighted to welcome him back into the New Zealand-fold.
“Mark Walker is an outstanding trainer who has been working with me since he was 18,” Ellis said. “He must be one of the only trainers in the world to win nine trainers’ premierships across two countries. He is an exceptional training talent, one of the finest horsemen you will ever find, and with Mark back at the helm, you can be assured that Te Akau will continue to play a major role in the industry. We have big plans.”
"He (Mark Walker) is an exceptional training talent, one of the finest horsemen you will ever find, and with Mark back at the helm, you can be assured that Te Akau will continue to play a major role in the industry. We have big plans.” - David Ellis
Te Akau Racing also announced that their Kranji stable will be taken over by expat New Zealand trainer Donna Logan, who trained Group 1 stars such as Rising Romance (NZ) (Ekraar {USA}), Volkstok’n’barrell (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), Habibi (NZ) (Ekraar {USA}), Valley Girl (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and Victory Smile (NZ) (Victory Dance {Ire}) from her seaside stable at Ruakaka before relocating to Singapore in early 2018.
“I am so looking forward to training the beautiful new bloodstock I have been entrusted with,” Logan said.
