Racing: Te Akau takes first step to title

Melody Belle (inside) could contest all three legs of the Hastings triple crown this year. Photo / Trish Dunell

The road to the New Zealand thoroughbred trainers' premiership may lead through Te Teko today.

Because while Te Akau may not be taking most of their superstars to the trials there today, their sheer numbers alone are perhaps the best pointer to what lies ahead in the next 12 months.

Jamie Richards and the Te Akau team have had to settle for second to the Murray Baker-Andrew Forsman stable the past two seasons and third the year before.

When training in partnership with Stephen Autridge four years ago, Richards won the premiership and admits he would like do so again.

"Obviously our main focus is on the group races and that won't change. And this season we are hoping to have a really good team in Australia, too, at times," says Richards.

"But we have a lot of really nice horses in work and some yet to come back. So we are going to have good numbers, people saw that at the trials last week and again [today].

"David [Ellis] and I have had a talk, and sure, we would love to win the premiership. It won't be easy and I wouldn't say we were targeting it specifically but it is definitely on the radar. But it is also one of those things which you have to see how the season unfolds."

Te Akau won "something like 17 of 18 races" in the South Island last season, says Richards, and that battleground could prove crucial in the premiership race.

"We send the first four of our team to the South Island on August 15 and have four to six to go the week after.

"So we plan to have 20 horses down there being looked after by Dad [Paul Richards] at Riccarton.

"And they will stay there, most of them anyway, until after Cup time."

While Te Akau targeting the New Zealand Cup carnival and particularly the 1000 and 2000 Guineas is something they regularly do with great success, not every horse crossing Cook Strait is a Group 1 contender.

"We have a lot of horses, and while most of them will be aiming at Saturday races down there, we will have horses going to the midweek meetings as well."

If Richards senior can cajole an extra 10 wins out of the southern stable this spring, that could set up Te Akau with a huge lead over the likes of Baker-Forsman and Stephen Marsh on the trainers' premiership.

They established a big lead last season but the weight of numbers for Baker-Forsman and a very strong autumn saw them win the premiership easily in the end, with Marsh getting within one win of Richards as the Tangerine Army went into hibernation for the winter.

If they can hold their premiership lead later into the season, Richards admits they could be tempted to launch another southern assault in the autumn, which would make sense anyway as they have so many numbers and a Saturday race at Riccarton is worth as much as at most northern tracks.

Some punters obviously think Richards can win his first sole premiership, with the stable opening $3.80 to take the title on Friday but into $2.60 last night.

But with the TAB running premiership betting more as a novelty, the move is unlikely to have been because of huge money invested.

While the south will be a premiership battleground, Richards still has his eyes set on both Sydney and Victoria with some of his heavyweights.

Probabeel (Princess Series), Avantage (Golden Eagle) and Te Akau Shark (Epsom) should all be Sydney-bound, with Te Akau Shark taking in the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on Saturday week first.

"He and Melody Belle will head there next week, and while she is the defending champion, he is trialling so well, he will be hard to beat."

But while Melody Belle could contest all three legs of the Hastings triple crown, Te Akau Shark will almost certainly bypass the Tarzino (August 31) and head straight to Sydney after Te Rapa.

Trainers' Premiership

• $1.50: Baker-Forsman
• $2.60: Jamie Richards
• $8.00: Stephen Marsh