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Self-made multi-millionaire and racehorse breeder, buyer, owner, and bloodstock consultant, David Ellis has since created the greatest privately-owned empire the New Zealand Thoroughbred racing industry has ever seen in Te Akau Racing.
Ellis goes to the sales with the plan to buy a mixture of horses to fill out local and international racing calendars and appeal to the full spectrum of existing and new owners.
Ellis was the top buyer at the NZB Ready to Run Sale. He chats to The Impact about his purchases and his plans for the forthcoming yearling sales:
Q: Please tell us more about the sale-topping Savabeel colt and Darci Brahma colt you purchased. What makes them special?
A: I purchased the sire, Darci Brahma, 17 years ago at the Karaka Premier Sale. He went on to become the Champion 2YO, Champion 3YO, and the Champion Sprinter/Miler as a 4YO. He went on to win Group One races in Australia and New Zealand. This Darci Brahma is a colt that I purchased at the Ready to Run Sale is the best Darci Brahma colt that I've seen.
With regards to the Savabeel colt we have purchased, we've had a lot of success buying Savabeel’s progeny. Again, he is a great sire, and this colt caught my eye right from the beginning. He's not too big, he is not too heavy and is very athletic. The NZ$700,000 that I paid for him is the highest price that any horse has ever been sold for at the NZ Ready to Run Sale, which tells you just how much in demand he was.
Darci Brahma has been a hugely successful sire, with his progeny winning major races in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. I also believe he has won several premierships in different countries - he's just a fantastic sire.
This colt is the best athlete I have seen so far, and we were thrilled to have him. There has been huge interest in him, and I believe that we only have a five percent share left in him now. Once he goes into the stable, I would like to give him Darci Brahma’s original box, I think that is quite fitting.
Q: The Savabeel colt is a beautiful horse. What are your plans for him?
A: We have given all our Ready to Run horses a spell and will look at having them in the paddocks at Te Akau Stud for another two to three weeks to unwind. We will bring them into the stable for preparation and make our plans from there. I believe that the Savabeel colt will be ready to win a 2YO race in March/April, and we aim to have him racing in both New Zealand and Australia.
Q: Who are your most successful graduates from this sale?
A: We have had several incredibly successful horses from the Ready to Run Sale. One horse that is incredibly well known and is an international favourite is a horse called Gingernuts – we purchased him at 2015 Ready to Run Sale for only $42,500. He just appealed to me as an athlete and became a massive crowd favourite, winning Group One races in Australia and New Zealand, including the New Zealand Derby and the Rosehill Guineas in Sydney. He earned NZ$1,225,000 over his career and is now retired on our farm at Te Akau Stud, where he works as a lead pony for our breakers.
Te Akau Shark is another horse that we purchased at 2016 Ready to Run sale. He is one of the highest-rated horses in the world at the present and has earned NZ$1,525,568.00. His wins also include Group One races in Australia and New Zealand.
We also bought a horse called the Hall of Fame. A son of Savabeel won five of his 11 starts, including the Group One Levin Classic at Trentham, where he defeated Savile Row and Jon Snow, and the Listed Zacinto Stakes at Riccarton. We also purchased Flying Fulton, Champion Singapore Polytrack Horse of the Year, from this sale.
Over the years the success of graduates from the NZB Ready to Run sale has twenty times the success of Group One winners than any other Ready to Run sale.
You have to understand, that what these horses are like the day you buy them is irrelevant. What is very relevant is what they look like when you leg the jockey up. The secret is to visualize how these horses will change. We bought horses at all price ranges because we've got a really good clientele that we've built up and maintained over a lifetime.
Q: What are your plans for the upcoming yearling sales season?
A: From next week my trainer Jamie Richards, Joe Walls, the Chairman of New Zealand Bloodstock, and I will start looking at all the yearlings before the sale in January. We go around New Zealand and look at every yearling in the sale. We are looking forward to that immensely.
Q: How many horses are you hoping to buy this season?
A: Normally we buy thirty and we will certainly be very active in this sale. We've been the leading buyer at the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale for the last 16 years in a row and we will certainly be buying again this year.
Q: What are your ambitions for Te Akau Racing over the next 10 years?
A: I'm always determined to take Te Akau Racing to the next level.
This last season we won 11 Group One races, and we also won the premiership in both New Zealand and Singapore. Our New Zealand trainer, Jamie Richards is currently ranked number nine in the Global Trainer rankings based on this success.
Our aim is to win more Group One races in New Zealand and in Australia. I'm determined to take that to the next level and to do that we need more owners, and we need more good yearlings - and that's what we're going to do. I've set my heart on it. This season so far, (even though the season is only just over three months old: we have already won 62 races of which eleven are Group or Black Type races, with two of those Group wins in Australia. So that is my ambition for Te Akau racing over the next 10 years.
Q: Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
A: My favourite racehorse that we have had is Xtravagant. He stands at Newhaven Stud at Hunter Valley in Australia. My second favourite is a mare called Melody Belle, who has won 12 Group One races and has been named Champion Horse of the Year on twice – in 2019 and 2020. Another horse that I am very fond of is Advantage. She has won a Group One race at 1200m, 1400, 1600m and 2000m – she is a fantastic athlete.