Generation Next: Te Akau's Trumper on the perfect mix of passion and perseverance

Cover image courtesy of Te Akau Racing

Te Akau Racing assistant trainer Reece Trumper is an excellent example of hard work and commitment being rewarded; Trumper joined Te Akau straight out of highschool over five years ago, beginning as a stablehand and raceday strapper, and working his way up to his current position.

A passion for thoroughbreds has been brewing in Trumper since he was a child. His earliest memories of the breed are seeing his grandfather John Trumper handling the stallions at his grandparents’ Cheveley Stud in Te Aroha.

One of those stallions was Electronic Zone (USA), who was Champion Sire in New Zealand for the 2009/10 season when his three-time Group 1-winning son Vosne Romanee (NZ) was New Zealand’s Horse Of The Year. Vosne Romanee makes an appearance across the Tasman in the pedigree of Sunshine In Paris (Invader) as the half-brother to her dam Zenaida (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}).

John and his wife Sue bred and prepared a number of topline performers over the years, including dual Group 1 winner Gee I Jane (NZ) (Jahafil {GB}), 22-time winner Bulginbaah (NZ) (Starjo {NZ}), with nine of his wins coming at stakes level, and G1 Easter Handicap winner Pakaraka Star (NZ) (Starjo {NZ}).

“That was my introduction to the game,” Trumper recalled developing his solid grounding in horsemanship from his grandparents. “I started handling horses with them.”

A delight to deal with

As a teenager, Trumper fuelled that passion at the racetrack, working for Stratford-based trainer Gavin Sharrock on weekends and after school. Before long, he was heading to the races as a strapper, where he got to handle a particularly special mare.

“He (Sharrock) had a nice mare called Piece Of Kate, she was a pretty good horse. She could be a bit unsound, but looking back on it now, she was very talented, she had so much ability. You wonder how far she could have gone.”

Piece Of Kate (NZ) (Ekraar {USA}) was a four-time winner for Sharrock, breaking her maiden as an autumn 3-year-old and earning a shot at the G1 New Zealand Derby.

The best foal of an unraced Entrepreneur (GB) mare, her second dam also appears on the page of Hong Kong sensation Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) and her third dam, the blue hen Taiona (NZ) (Sovereign Edition {Ire}), links her to Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars).

“She was my first winner as a strapper,” Trumper shared. “She was just a delight to deal with. I didn’t look after her, she looked after me.”

Trumper strapped Piece Of Kate for her fourth and final win in late September 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, she died in her last race after rupturing an aorta. It was tragic, but the experience of looking after her and Sharrock’s stable had Trumper set firmly on the path to a career in thoroughbreds.

“I knew at that stage I definitely wanted to be a part of it (the thoroughbred industry),” he said. “It was just a matter of which way I went.” And in the end, it was racing that won out.

A tangerine opportunity

After finishing highschool, Trumper immediately signed up to work for Te Akau Racing, because, in his words, “obviously they are the best”.

Starting at the bottom as a stablehand, Trumper got stuck in to working for the racing giant. Six months after he arrived in 2019, that day-to-day structure would be turned on its head by the arrival of COVID. New Zealand racing closed down for months, and the entire Te Akau Racing team was moved to David Ellis’ Te Akau Stud to weather the storm.

“COVID was probably a lucky thing for myself and (head trainer) Sam (Bergerson) because we moved out to the farm and got to know David really well,” Trumper said. “It was a great opportunity to move out there and meet him a lot more often, and show him my knowledge. If that didn’t happen, I probably wouldn’t be in this position.”

Around 175 horses came out to the farm with Trumper, Bergerson, and a handful of other staff members following suit to help take care of them. There was no instant promotion, but the seeds were sown that Trumper could have what it takes to climb the ladder.

When racing returned to New Zealand in late 2020, Trumper was put on the lead of a few of Te Akau’s rising stars. One of his early charges included the soon-to-be stallion Sword Of State - whose first 2-year-olds will hit the track within the coming months - at his first start and a young Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), who was ready to embark on a glittering career.

“I was lucky enough to strap Imperatriz for her second start, when she won the G2 Eclipse Stakes,” Trumper said. “When I look back, that was amazing.”

Gallery: Some of Te Akau Racing's stars that Trumper strapped at the races, images supplied

Another special horse to Trumper was Need I Say More (No Nay Never {USA}), who strung together four Group wins in 2020 and 2021 before export to Hong Kong. Trumper recalls him as a very talented animal, and enjoyed following the gelding’s progress in Hong Kong, where he added another HK$7.1 million ($1.38 million) to his prize pot under the stewardship of Ricky Yiu.

“I went to a lot of (race) meetings for (then trainer) Jamie Richards. I was in a position where I wasn’t running a barn, so I could get out to most of them. I've been lucky enough to strap some pretty good horses, some of the best David’s bought, which is pretty special.”

Hands on education

Twelve months after the end of lockdown restrictions and resumption of racing, Trumper was promoted to Assistant Foreman of the colts barn - while this meant a drop in the number of race meets he could attend, it was an elevation in his training.

“I had to be more hands on with the horses and the barn, knowing what's going on with them, being there for the vet, et cetera,” Trumper said. “And that's where the racing manager (position) all came into it eventually, because they knew I loved the racing, and I'm happy to go wherever.

“There was also a lot of pressure off Mark and Sam at that time, so when I was made racing manager, they knew that they could just send me off to the races, and know everything was going to be done right.”

Being an assistant foreman was deeply informative, and it set Trumper up for the hope of one day training himself.

“When I went racing all the time, I missed out on what the vets would be doing and what kind of work everything would be doing each morning. It was really good to be a part of those things happening.”

The step up to racing manager took place in 2022, when the role was vacated by Libby Richards, coinciding with her brother Jamie Richards’ move to Hong Kong. Trumper spotted the job listing and decided to throw his hat in the ring.

“I just was sitting at home one day and I read the job description, and I thought, ‘oh, that’s the kind of job I’d like’, so I applied for it,” he said. “About three or four weeks later, they (the Te Akau management team) came to the stables and they put me in the office and they gave me the job. And really, the rest was history.

“I spent three seasons being racing manager for David, and it got a lot more serious as each month went by as to what he expected of me. I really enjoyed it.”

That seed sown at Te Akau Stud in 2020 was given a chance to bloom.

Taking the next step

Trumper confessed he is by nature a “shy person”, but being thrust into the racing manager role meant he had to develop and adapt quickly; he was expected to take over communication with owners, book jockeys, and be ready to answer any question thrown his way as a race meeting.

“There was a lot of pressure on me at first, but once I got the hang of it, I was all under control,” he said. Through his role booking jockeys, Trumper came to know Blake Shinn very well and considers him one of his closest friends.

“He was great to get for the team, he’s such a hard working guy,” Trumper said. “Not many Australian jockeys would fly over here for the races, let alone a morning of trials. It paid off very well especially with Damask Rose, he came and trialled her, then she won the Karaka Millions and the Kiwi.

“And having just announced that Opie (Bosson) is back is just more relief than anything, because simply he is the best. He certainly gets the most out of our horses.”

The fast-paced nature of the role fuelled Trumper’s desire to be a trainer even further, and earlier this year, Trumper was offered - and accepted - the role of Assistant Trainer underneath Sam Bergerson in New Zealand. With the team and training partnership split between their home base and the Cranbourne stable, it was the ideal time for Trumper to step in and support Bergerson even more closely.

“Over the last couple of years, I began to realise I either wanted to be more involved in the syndication of horses with David, or be a trainer myself,” Trumper said. “And the more I spoke about it, the more I wanted to be a trainer.

“David's in the position where he just wants to help me pursue my dreams and do what I want to do. So, we just got through getting the majority of all the yearlings getting sold - I do enjoy helping Dave and Karen (Fenton-Ellis) select and sell the horses - then we started to move on to the training side of things.”

Opportunity knocks

Taking the position in May, Trumper is aware he is very fortunate to have the support of the Te Akau team to achieve his dreams.

“David and Karen and Mark (Walker) and Sam, they're great to deal with, and they’ve been kind enough to take me under their wing and given me an opportunity. Not many people would give someone an opportunity at my age. I know I'm pushing well above my weight for doing what I'm doing at the age I am.

“David's obviously got a very good record with mentoring young people, with Mark, Jamie, Sam now. They are becoming some of the biggest names in training. And Mark has been incredible, he has taught me a lot already in the short time since I took the role.”

Trumper is excited to head into the near season of racing in his position, and is looking forward to the return of horses like unbeaten juvenile Return To Conquer (Snitzel), who will start his spring campaign in Australia.

“Now that Snitzel has passed away, he’s only got to win one nice race and he’s worth a lot of money at stud,” he said. “Horses like him and Damask Rose, they are the reason we get out of bed every morning.”

But it’s definitely the 2-year-olds that excite Trumper the most.

“I’d love to have a horse in the Golden Slipper, and I believe we have bought one or two this year that can get there,” he said. “David’s bought 75 horses since November last year, so hopefully we have a few who can have a crack at races like that.”

To those looking to follow his route from the ground up, Trumper puts a lot of emphasis on loving the sport and surrounding yourself with others who feel the same

“There's no point being a part of the sport if you don't love it,” he said. “You've got to surround yourself with good people who believe in you. And you need to make sure that, if you know what you want and where you want to go, you need to speak your mind.”