Image courtesy Te Akau Racing
The formidable trans-Tasman stable of Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson is continuously producing headline horses, primarily in the tangerine and blue silks of Sir David Ellis CNZM's Te Akau Racing. Ahead of the racing on Saturday, August 29, Sam Bergerson walked TTR through some of their stable star's spring ambitions and who to keep an eye on amongst their untapped talent.
3-year-olds
Seize The Day, 3-year-old colt (I Am Invincible x Zimaretto {Anabaa {USA}})
Seize The Day | Image courtesy of Peter Rubbery (Race Images)
“He kicks off on Saturday in the G3 McNeil Stakes. He's going to have to carry the Group 1 penalty but he's had a couple of jump-outs over there and the team is really pleased with him. After the McNeil, it's most likely into the (G3) Guineas Prelude, then hopefully onto the (G1) Caulfield Guineas. He’s already a Group 1 winner in New Zealand, so the aim’s to get one in Australia.
“We only had him over in New Zealand here for a couple of weeks, then he jetted off to the Cranbourne barn. Hopefully he can kick off on the right note on Saturday. I know there’s a bit of concern about the track being rain-affected, but the hope is that he makes a good impression and, all going well, he can get to the Caulfield Guineas.”
Seize The Day ran 10th of 10 in the G3 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
I Am Aria, 3-year-old filly (I Am Invincible x Talaria {NZ} {O’Reilly {NZ}})
I Am Aria | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“After placing twice at Group level last autumn, she won first up in a Bendigo maiden on August 12, so she will go back to Flemington on September 12 to run in the (G3) Cap D’Antibes Stakes over 1100 metres.
“She's a big girl who’s taken time to mature. I know the Cranbourne team are particularly pleased with how she's coming along and it was good to see her win first up in the maiden, so hopefully she can keep improving from there and head towards the (G1) Coolmore (Stud Stakes) if she shows enough.”
Lara Antipova, 3-year-old filly (Russian Revolution x Artistic Lass {Myboycharlie {Ire}})
Lara Antipova | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“She ran in the (G3) Quezette Stakes first up and she had a little bit of a troubled passage. She didn't disgrace herself, but she will have to probably go to a new level to match up with some of those fillies over there.
“So she's running in the (Listed) Mike Moroney at Flemington over 1400 metres on September 12, and she will be trying to get to the (G1) 1000 Guineas, but we will be really guided by her next run.
“The Mike Moroney will be her first go over 1400 metres, but she seems to have come out of the first-up effort well and obviously the winner of that race, Natural Fling is really sharp and possibly going to the (G1) Moir Stakes. Take her (four-length margin) out of the race and I suppose Lara Antipova is not beaten that far.
“She does need to lift above her first-up effort, but Mark and the Cranbourne team are pleased with how she's come through it, and we are hoping she can bounce back to better form next time.”
Sweetest Thing (NZ), 3-year-old filly (Hello Youmzain {Fr} x Ocean Drive {Ire} {Sea The Stars {Ire}})
Sweetest Thing (NZ) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“We have this filly called Sweetest Thing. It's funny, because my dad trained her as a 2-year-old, but then she was bought by Glentree Thoroughbreds and now she is in our barn. She ran second in the G1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes here as a 2-year-old, so she's a pretty handy filly.
"She’s still a maiden, but she ran very well at some good races last season and she's actually already down in our South Island base heading towards the (G1) New Zealand 1000 Guineas here.
“She's had a couple of trials, she won the most recent one on August 25, and she kicks off in a Listed race called the Canterbury Belle Stakes on September 12. We will be trying to get her to 1000 Guineas and then potentially head over to Melbourne or on to the NZB Kiwi. Obviously there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before then, but she's quite a nice filly.”
Zafar, 3-year-old colt (Snitzel x Zasorceress {NZ} {Zabeel {NZ}})
Zafar | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“He’s a Snitzel colt that we bought out of the NZB Ready To Run Sale (for NZ$165,000), and he was cheap enough for a Snitzel. He won the Listed Champagne Stakes on debut and he kicks off on Saturday in a 3-year-old set weights and penalties 1000-metre race. We are hoping to get him to the (G1) New Zealand 2000 Guineas. He's another one that's already down south and settled in the Riccarton base.”
Zafar ran 4th of 10 in the NZ$40,000 Cup Week Tickets On Sale - 1 September Three-Year-Old at Riccarton on Saturday.
System Of Play, 3-year-old colt (Ole Kirk x Statuesquely {Medaglia D’Oro {USA}})
System Of Play | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“Probably the main benchmark colt up here is one called System Of Play. He won a race as a 2-year-old and we tipped him out. He is also on a 2000 Guineas path, but up here in the North. He kicks off in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy over 1200 metres on September 12.
“We think he could potentially be one of our better 3-year-olds this time around. He's trialled up nicely a couple of times here in the North and he’s ready to go, so fingers crossed he can become one of the main ones this spring.”
4-year-olds
Drops Of God (NZ), 4-year-old mare (Hello Youmzain {Fr} x Distinctive Lass {Orientate {USA}})
Drops Of God (NZ) | Image courtesy of Race Images
“I think our main 4-year-old flag bearer will be a mare called Drops Of God. She has only had the four starts and she's won three of them, and the only start she was beaten was the (G3) Almanzor Trophy on Karaka Millions night, where she got beaten by Belle Cheval and still ran third.
“We think she's a pretty good filly. We're working her backwards from the (G1) Railway. She trialled really nicely last week at Taupo in a pretty hot Group and Listed trial, and she was the winner by four and a half lengths. She just had 10 days out in the paddock and she will trial mid-September at Ellerslie and potentially kick off in an open handicap.
“Despite winning the (G3) Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, she's only rated 80 in races like the Legacy Lodge Sprint and the Counties Bowl. We think she's pretty sharp and we have had a lot of luck with that family. She’s very closely related to Kahma Lass who won the 1000 Guineas.
"We feel she is a pretty talented mare now and she seems to have really furnished up. The ownership group is being very patient and hoping that it can help us here.”
Belle Cheval (NZ), 4-year-old mare (Savabeel x Keepa Cheval {NZ} {Keeper})
Belle Cheval (NZ) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She kicks off on Saturday in the G3 Courtza Stakes over 1200 metres with Craig Williams aboard. She is getting a bit of weight now and it’s probably gonna be a bit short of her best, but we are hoping that she can run well and carry on to the (G1) Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, maybe the (G1) Toorak Handicap, and then if she’s going really well, something like the (G1) Golden Eagle, which is going to be red hot.
“She stays in Melbourne and targets races like the (G1) Empire Rose Stakes or something like that. We will be guided by her, and we’re excited to see her back out and about. She has had a couple of jump-outs and appears to be going well enough.”
Belle Cheval ran 12th of 12 in the G3 Courtza Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
He Who Dares (NZ), 4-year-old gelding (Snitzel x Rondinella {NZ} {Ocean Park {NZ}})
He Who Dares (NZ) | Image courtesy of (Race Images Palmerston North)
“He had a big 3-year-old season and we think he's a pretty handy horse going forward. He has been gelded and we brought him up into the spring, but he just didn't make the trials. He just wasn't really doing that well in the stable and lightened off a lot, so he wasn't carrying a heap of condition.
“So he has had a month off in the paddock and he's due back in on Monday. He performed really well at Ellerslie last season, he just unfortunately ran into Well Written and Belle Cheval a few times. The 4YO Millions and races like that are where we think he will be really handy and he's quite low in the handicap right now as well. We are going to have to really utilise that.
“We think that the mile is going to be his sweet spot, but being out of Rondinella, he definitely has the potential to get further in time. We are just taking our time with him and waiting for that later spring into the summer.”
Towering Vision (NZ), 4-year-old gelding (Circus Maximus {Ire} x Qiji Vision {NZ} {Iffraaj {GB})
Towering Vision (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“He runs first up at Ellerslie next Saturday in a rating 75 mile, and we will be guided by how he goes to decide where is next for him. He's nominated for the (G3) Coupland’s Mile on November 11, down at Riccarton over Cup Week. We could also potentially stretch him out to 2000 metres, as well but we are certainly going to utilise his low handicap early on and just build him up through the grades.”
La Dorada (NZ), 4-year-old mare (Super Seth x Gold Fever {NZ} {Savabeel})
La Dorada (NZ) | Image courtesy of Race Images
“She is due to come back into the stable on Monday (August 31). We are just mindful she never really came up last preparation, and she trialled only okay this time around, so we sent her back to the paddock for a while longer. So she's back in on Monday and we will aim for the back end of spring into the summer.
“She's not overly big but she's certainly furnished and strengthened up now. She's a Group 1 winner at two and we're certainly aiming to enhance her black-type record, but something like the 4YO Karaka Million might be a nice race for her. It's called the Aotearoa Classic and that's on Karaka Million night. There’s a lot of fillies and mares races we could target with her around that.
“There's no real set plan for her at the moment. We are just looking forward to getting her back in the stable, building her up a bit and waiting for those tracks to dry out.”
Older horses
Damask Rose (NZ), 5-year-old mare (Savabeel x Sombreuil {Flying Spur})
Damask Rose (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“She spent the year in Melbourne and has come back to New Zealand now. She trialled on rain-affected tracks and didn’t come up, so we thought rather than sort of pushing on, she's like La Dorada, we've given her a bit of a freshen up. We will let everyone else take each other on in the early part of the spring and keep her fresh for later on.
“She comes back in on Monday and we'll probably kick her off in the (G2) Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes in mid-November, it’s a weight-for-age fillies and mares 1400-metre race, which should suit her.
“She was obviously a very good performer here as a 3-year-old, but she's still not actually a black-type winner, so that is the real goal for her. She didn't have a lot of luck in Melbourne, so hopefully we can get her back on track and aim at those fillies and mares races over the summer. We obviously want to try and get her a Group 1, but we will aim to get her back in form first.”
Top Shelf (NZ), 5-year-old mare (Savabeel x Saoirse {NZ} {Iffraaj {GB}})
Top Shelf (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“We've got a nice mare called Top Shelf, she was Group 2-placed as a 3-year-old and she actually picked up a small injury in that race. She had a long time off and she finished last season with a placing in the (G3) Easter Handicap, which is typically quite a good form race.
“She’s had a good break, and we think now as an older mare, she has really come into herself. She's always been quite immature and backwards, but with how she has developed, we think she is in for a pretty good season. There’s no real set plan for her. She'll just kick off in an open handicap at Ellerslie in mid-September and go from there.”
Qali Al Farrasha (NZ), 6-year-old mare (Almanzor {Fr} x Nucleonic {NZ} {Burgundy {NZ}})
Qali Al Farrasha (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“We decided to give her a bit of a longer break this time around and miss the Hawke's Bay Triple Crown and races like that. She’s three or four times Group 1-placed, so obviously we would love to upgrade that. She seems to have come back well. She's just had the one trial so far but we are taking our time with her and she will kick off in fillies and mares grade in early October.”
2-year-olds
Zanardi (NZ), 2-year-old colt (Spirit Of Boom x Pazienza {Written Tycoon})
Zanardi (NZ) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“We have a really nice group of yearlings, now 2-year-olds coming through. More will arrive in the coming months, but hopefully there’s a couple of stars within this group. We have a nice Spirit Of Boom colt called Zanardi that Sir David Ellis bought for NZ$280,000 from Cambridge Stud at this year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale. He won his heat at Avondale on August 11 by two and a quarter lengths, he was quite impressive.”
Virtual Reality, 2-year-old filly (Lucky Vega {Ire} x Twisted Reality {GB} {damsire})
Virtual Reality as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“We also have a Lucky Vega filly called Virtual Reality, who we bought from Yulong for $270,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. She also won her trial on August 25, and won it nicely by a length. Hopefully one of these two is an early runner.”
Scorching (NZ), 2-year-old colt (Too Darn Hot {GB} x Spritz {NZ} {Thorn Park})
Scorching (NZ) as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“Another one to highlight is Scorching, a Too Darn Hot colt bought for NZ$320,000 from Beaufort Downs at Karaka. He finished second behind his stablemate Zanardi, and we think he’s a very nice colt going forward. He just wasn’t as precocious as his stablemate, but there’s lots of improvement to come.”
