With COVID-19 travel restrictions still devastating in many parts of the world and the travel corridor between New Zealand and Australia still closed, Te Akau supremo David Ellis will once again be forced to watch the action unfold. out at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from over on Tasman.
Twelve months before the country went into lockdown, Ellis and Te Akau head coach Jamie Richards teamed up with fellow Kiwi Andy Williams to help source the longing for the cage, and they skipped last year’s edition when spent AU$2.74 million on six children, five children, and five fillings. and a pony.
“Last year, I went through all the pedigrees and spent about three weeks or so researching and analyzing the pedigree, then I went through all the photos and videos of each horse, and it took about three more weeks. Then I found Andy Williams, who was a great friend of Te Akau, to go check out the horses for me and he bid on the horses,” Ellis told ANZ Bloodstock News. .
Success in the class of 2021 is immediate with Bright blue sky—A chubby Ellis and Williams make AU$600,000 (US$461,728) – her first break came with her debut in Fasttrack Insurance 2YO Stakes in November and a AU$500,000 purchase ($384,773) America) I choose you, who had a winning debut over 1,100 meters (about 5 1/2 feathers) at Te Aroha in November and was most recently seen running third in the First Global Logistics Eclipse Stakes (G2) going 1,200 metres. (about six furlongs) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Eve.
Like last year, Ellis has been scouring the catalog for potential stars of the future, but in contrast to 12 months ago, Ellis will have a member of her team on the Magic Millions complex in the shape of new five-time champion. New Zealand coach and four-time Singapore champion coach Mark Walker, who will return to lead Te Akau’s New Zealand side later this year, with Richards already appointed to the Hong Kong coaching staff.
“This year I’m so lucky to have Mark Walker who is coming home from championships coach in Singapore and he’s taking over at Te Akau New Zealand and he’s lucky he’s currently on the Gold Coast and he He’ll be able to check on all the horses for me and then we’ll have a group talk and see which ones we’ll target,” Ellis explained.
“But personally, I’ve probably spent more time with all the horses than ever before. We’ll always use Andy for a second opinion because he’s just such a good and successful judge. His record speaks for itself.”
With Te Akau now an indelible force of the New Zealand racing community, the New Zealand Horse Year Sale Bloodstock Karaka will always be Ellis’ primary source of young horses, but given the success he has had with graduates from the January Magic Millions sale, including last year’s Sistema Stakes (G1) Winner Sword of State, AU$600,000 ($411,974) in 2020, it’s no surprise to see him return year after year.
Young kids waiting their turn in the sales round at Magic Millions
“I have always had great success on the Gold Coast and have bought a number of brilliant horses on sale and we will certainly be looking to buy back a few ponies and a few fillings this year,” said Ellis.
“Having the real Mark on the Gold Coast this year has been an amazing thing. Mark and I have bought a lot of championship horses together, so it was great to be able to let him see them actually on site, of course, Given the current situation, is a great thing.”
With testing starting January 5, Ellis said the quality of this year’s sale looks high, believing the category is flooded with the usual sought-after class.
“The horses at this sale are brilliant, they are early maturing horses with good pedigree from good farms and you will get a very diverse range of stallions at the sale.
“The sale on paper looks very strong as always and I think there are a lot of very nice horses on sale, but like I said, we’ll be doing most of the buying at Karaka, like always, but we’ll still be buying a couple of them during next week’s sale.”
After finishing third in Eclipse Stakes on New Year’s Day, I Choose You was assigned to a short run and will then be prepared for the New Zealand 2 year old group 1 races in the fall. .
Ellis said: “She is having a couple of days in the paddock and then we will get her ready for the 1 2 year group races in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the boy’s stable friend Bright Blue Sky is fourth behind the most popular Magic Millions 2YO Classic right now. Coolangatta in Magic Million BJ McLachlan Stakes (G3) on Gift Day and with AU$50,177 in her bank account, she sits 15th in the order for the AU$2 million Gold Coast race . However, Ellis, who didn’t want to deal with the filth, said her daughter Fastnet Rock there won’t be one more pre-competition run and isn’t too worried if she doesn’t make the cut.
“We’re not going to try her again against the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, so we’re hoping we’ll get in, but if we don’t, that’s bad luck. We don’t want to face her and push. Ellis said if she can’t get into a race.
Reflecting on Te Akau’s success and Richards’ departure, Ellis added: “It’s definitely been a very exciting time for Te Akau, we look forward to having a lovely group of 2 year olds. It’s also been a very exciting time for New Zealand, with Jamie going to Hong Kong and representing our country on the world stage and equally excited to have a world-class coach. My wife, Karyn and I are just so proud of all that Jamie has achieved in a relatively short amount of time, he is truly just a champion and an unbeatable coach. enemy.
“What I really enjoy is developing young people and Mark has worked for me since the day he left school and Jamie came to me when he was 24 and I think that’s one of the great things about it. It’s been amazing in life, watching these young people grow into champion coaches, it’s been really rewarding for Karyn and myself.”
