Te Akau Racing’s Riccarton barn were instrumental in their premiership defence last season, adding 64 victories to their 169 win haul, and their southern base have kicked of the new term in similar fashion.
Their tangerine and blue silks were to the fore once more at Riccarton’s synthetic meeting on Wednesday, securing a treble, including a trifecta in the Hoteliers Challenge Rating 65 (1200m).
After finishing runner-up in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) on the turf at the Christchurch venue last Saturday with Freeze Frame, trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson were delighted to get on the board on Wednesday.
Not Straight Laced kicked off proceedings in the Elmwood Trading Co Maiden (1200m) before Moon Rocket quickly doubled their tally when victorious Betavet Maiden (1400m), and French Rose led home a Te Akau trifecta later on the card.
“It was great to start the season off yesterday down in Christchurch,” Bergerson said. “We would have loved to have won the Winter Cup but just missed the bob.
“The team at Christchurch have had a fantastic season and they kicked that off again there on Wednesday with three really good winners. Hunter (Durrant, Riccarton stable foreman) and the team down there do a fantastic job, we are very lucky.”
Just a week into the new season, Walker and Bergerson once again sit atop the trainers’ premiership alongside New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock, and they are keen to extend their tally when they head to Riccarton on Saturday where they are set to have a quartet of runners on the turf.
Winter Cup runner-up Freeze Frame will back up in the Stephanie Murray Mortgages Open Handicap (1800m) where he will be vying to end a long and successful preparation on a high.
“He is doing an incredible job,” Bergerson said. “He won first-up on a Good track over 1100m at Te Rapa in December and he is still racing now, deep into the winter.
“Speaking to Hunter, he said he is fresh and bright at home, so we are keen to back him up in what we think is quite a nice race for him.
“We are looking forward to seeing him step up to 1800m. We have stretched him out to a mile and he is doing a fantastic job. He will hopefully stay in time.
“We will get through Saturday and I can’t imagine he would be doing too much more. Hopefully he can put his hand up again on Saturday.”
Promising stayer Fierce Flight is down to kick-off his preparation in the Heatstore Open Handicap (1400m), but could be saved for another day if track conditions don’t suit.
“Fierce Flight is on a New Zealand Cup (Gr.3, 3200m) campaign,” Bergerson said. “There is a bit of rain forecast down there today and whether we kick him off on a really testing track over 1400m we are not really sure.
“We could miss that and trial him, and then kick him off over a mile a couple of weeks later. He seems to be coming up well and has had a couple of good trials, one up north and then one down there as well.
“He is proving himself to be a really handy stayer.”
The stable will also be represented by Fellini in the Scenic Hotel Group Rating 75 (1600m) and Kith ‘n’ Kin in the Zilco Rating 75(1200m).
“Fellini has been in good form and has been consistent without getting a win,” Bergerson said. “We would like to get him over the line first. He has been in good form at home and the team is happy with him.
“Kith ‘n’ Kin we gave a bit of a freshen-up and she was first-up there on the poly and was very good late. She is not overly big, but one that tries really hard. She is certainly not out of it if she gets the right run and cops the track there, we are sure she can run a really good race.”
