Summer marks farewell to Shark, Santa
As Christmas nears, two popular stalwarts of the racetrack in recent years were retired within hours yesterday
Yesterday marked the end of an era on both sides of the Tasman as popular geldings Santa Ana Lane (8 g Lope De Vega – Fast Fleet by Fastnet Rock) and Te Akau Shark (6 g Rip Van Winkle – Bak Da Chief by Chief Bearhart) bade farewell to their racetrack careers.
While neither was unexpected – Santa Ana Lane due to the parsimony of age, with Te Akau Shark unable to overcome an eye injury – the successive announcements were still met with great sadness from racing fans both in Australia and New Zealand.
It was a reminder that racetrack prowess is both everlasting and fleeting, that the stars of the show should be enjoyed in the moment for their presence is constrained by time, whatever occurs.
For the Jamie Richards-prepared Te Akau Shark, he may not have turned too many heads when he was passed in for NZ$70,000 at the 2016 Karaka Premier Yearling Sale, but he caught one of the best eyes in the game when David Ellis saw him ahead of the NZB Ready To Run Sale that year.
Ellis, the Te Akau Racing principal, went to NZ$230,000 to snare the son of Waikato Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2400m) heroine Bak Da Chief (Chief Bearhart). A year later, when he made his first racecourse outing, it was pretty clear to all that Ellis had an excitement machine on his hands.
The hulking chestnut – whose name came about because of his part-owners, Cronulla Sharks chairman Steve Mace and the rugby league club’s former captain Paul Gallen – won five of his first six starts, with his only defeat when fourth behind stablemate Embellish (Savabeel) in the 2017 running of the New Zealand 2000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). Among those first five wins were victories in the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (Gr 2, 1600m) and the Red Badge Sprint (Gr 3, 1400m) in 2018.
Returning in the spring of 2019, he went winless through a four-run preparation, yet it was arguably the preparation that stamped him as a genuine star. Among his placings were a second in the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m), beaten a lip by Kolding (Ocean Park), and a terrific third in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) behind Japanese superstar Lys Gracieux (Heart’s Cry) and three-year-old Castelvecchio (Dundeel).
In the autumn, he added Group 1 wins in the Waikato Sprint (Gr 1, 1400m) at Te Rapa and the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick, but he was beaten as an odds-on favourite in the George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) before closing his career with a fifth in what will be named next month as one of the world’s best races of 2020, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
“It was with a heavy heart that we’ve retired him,” Te Akau Racing’s Karyn Fenton-Ellis told SEN’s Andrew Bensley. “At the end of the day, though – as we’re all very well aware – the interests, the wellbeing and the welfare of the horse has to come first.
“Unfortunately, the prognosis of his return to racing was grave. We will continue to care and look after him, but we needed to share the decision with the public of which the owners have been aware for a few days now.”
Fenton-Ellis said that Te Akau Shark’s eye issues, which were diagnosed after his autumn campaign in Sydney, had deteriorated significantly in recent months, capping a brutal 2020 for the six-year-old.
“He developed eye problems and all of the specialists involved said it’s such a rare situation that they went right across the world to speak to various experts,” she said. “His was one of maybe four or five cases that had been seen internationally, but even then, they weren’t exactly the same so there wasn’t really a blueprint.
“He was in amazing hands in Sydney and then back in New Zealand with the veterinary specialists. He had implants in both of his eyes, but the sad thing was that during his recuperation, he developed pneumonia. No one could have foreseen that and the pneumonia then impaired the whole immune system and affected his ability to recuperate and rehabilitate.
“We got him back home (in August), he’s a very happy and contented horse at Te Akau Stud but his eyesight has continued to deteriorate to the point where there is absolutely no racing future for him.
“It’s a sad day for everyone because he was a gallant, brave horse and he gave such a great sight every time he raced. Owners, trainers, the public – all of us love horses that go out there and show that heart, the chivalry, the gallant approach. With him, there were no ifs or maybes – he left everything out on the track. He gave it his all every time and gave us a great thrill, and we’re probably extraordinarily sad because we think he had a lot more to offer.”
Te Akau Shark’s retirement marks the second high-profile member of the tangerine and blue clan to be retired in recent days, with last season’s champion New Zealand two-year-old Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel) heading to the breeding barn.
For Richards, who prepared both horses, there is little time to stop and take stock with a big team to prepare for the summer features in New Zealand before the autumn in Australia. However, the top trainer praised Te Akau Shark’s inherent brilliance in paying tribute to his stable star.
“It’s disappointing that he was unable to get over his eye complaints, but he’ll be remembered as one of the most naturally gifted horses we have had through our stables,” he said.
“He’s always shown to possess natural talent and ability, but ultimately he had a weakness in his eyes that unfortunately caught up with him and stopped him getting back to the races.”
When asked to identify her favourite Te Akau Shark moments, Fenton-Ellis makes mention of his Australian Group 1 win, but also his defeat in the race widely regarded as Australasia’s weight-for-age championship.
“The Chipping Norton was massive for us because he was a slow maturer, lightly raced – even up until now. He was a horse that took time and the owners showed an extraordinary amount of patience and trust in Jamie and the team. It was a win where he showed everyone just how good he was.
“I have to say, though, while his wins were extraordinary, I still look back and say that his effort in that Cox Plate from gate 14 was just magnificent.”
Te Akau Shark will continue to call Te Akau Stud home, but Fenton-Ellis laughingly said that he wouldn’t be cosying up to another of the farm’s prized chestnuts, three-time Group 1 winner Gingernuts (Iffraaj).
“Gingernuts is running the show,” Fenton-Ellis said. “Someone said to me on Twitter today, will he hang out with Gingernuts? And I said, well, Gingernuts has a best boyfriend called Scrutinize, he’s a retired Savabeel. But he (Te Akau Shark) has a girlfriend at the moment, which is OK as he’s a gelding.
“He’s pretty content and, no matter what the future holds for him, we will do our best endeavours by him as we do with all of our horses. You can’t just love them on the track – you’ve got to love them after racing as well.”
Te Akau Shark retires as a winner of seven of his 14 starts, earning AUD$1,455,290.
Santa sidelined as Christmas approaches
Whereas Te Akau Shark’s career was comparatively short, sharp and sweet, even as a late maturer, the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Santa Ana Lane took time to develop, with the benefit of a full career spanning six seasons and 44 starts.
Purchased for $80,000 by Justin Bahen at the 2014 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, Santa Ana Lane has earned more than 100 times that original outlay, finishing his career as the winner of AUD$8,236,328.
“What a ride he has taken us all on, from the day we purchased him for $80,000 to winning five Group 1 races,” Bahen said in a statement yesterday. “We knew early in his career he was a handy horse but we never imagined he would go on to win five Group 1 races and be rated the world’s best sprinter in 2019.
“He has been a once-in-a-lifetime horse and he was a horse that everyone knew. Wherever I went in the world, people would always stop and ask about Santa Ana Lane.”
While his career trajectory after four starts was exactly the same as Te Akau Shark – victorious in three of his four starts, including the Zeditave Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), while finishing fourth at his third start – it took almost two years for Santa Ana Lane to really hit his straps.
It’s not that the bay looked a disappointment by any means – he appeared to be one of the dime-a-dozen talented sprinters that contest black type races right up and down the eastern seaboard throughout the year. As Bahen said, he was a “handy horse”.
If his career had been halted at 14 starts, it would have been as a Group 3 winner who had managed three stakes placings. Handy, but far from a champion.
Thankfully, patience was the tonic and a confidence-boosting win in the 2017 Wagga Town Plate (1200m), carrying 61 kilograms, seemed to be the spark that brought him to life, even if it took a while for that to shine through.
Suddenly, he was more consistent than he had been in some time and also appeared competitive at the highest level, flashing home for fifth behind Vega Magic (Lope De Vega) in The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) at his next start.
Within months, he was a Group 1 winner, arriving at a luxurious-in-hindsight 25–1 to take the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield. It looks even more amazing given that he was on the limit of 52 kilograms in the handicap.
Santa Ana Lane was unplaced at his next two runs, in the Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) in December, 2017 and the Bel Esprit Stakes (Listed, 1100m) in April, 2018, but within the next year, he would develop into Australia’s top sprinter.
He would take his second Group 1 in May, 2018, winning The Goodwood at Morphettville from near last – once again at 25–1. Still, though, he was underrated as a sprinter and he was sent out at double figures to take the Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1350m) a month later.
That day, he was dominant, adding Queensland’s biggest sprint to South Australia’s most prolific prize. In November, he would add arguably Victoria’s premier sprinting contest, the VRC Sprint Classic (Gr 1, 1200m), while his career highlight came when trouncing some of the finest speedsters around in the T J Smith Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) in Sydney in April last year.
Later that month, Santa Ana Lane would face his one test abroad, finishing fourth to Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook) in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Gr 1, 1200m) at Sha Tin.
His seven-year-old year saw him finish a narrow second to Yes Yes Yes (Rubick) in the $14 million The Everest (1200m) while he also finished second in the T J Smith Stakes behind subsequent Australian Horse of the Year Nature Strip (Nicconi). And while he returned this spring at eight, it was clear the Santa Ana Lane of old was not quite there – still competitive, yes, but not electric.
“Our 40 owners have enjoyed an incredible six-year journey, spanning race tracks all over Australia plus an exciting adventure to Hong Kong in 2019,” co-managing owner Michael Clemenger said on behalf of the William Street Syndicate yesterday.
“The memories are beyond our expectations and we wish to thank all those involved over his career, which began with a maiden victory at Bendigo in September, 2015. We are all so happy to see Santa head off on his (sleigh) in time for Christmas.”
Added Anthony Freedman: “The win in the T J Smith beating the best sprinters in Australia by three and a half lengths was enormous. He had nothing left to prove on the racetrack and, as an eight year-old, I am happy to see him retired as a happy and healthy horse.
“He had a terrific career, he has given everything he had and I commend the ownership group for looking after him. It was a privilege to train him and he will be sadly missed by everyone around the stable.”
What awaits Santa Ana Lane now is unknown, but Freedman believes he would be a perfect ambassador for racing as an off-the-track thoroughbred.
“We are yet to confirm what the future holds for him; those decisions will be made over the coming weeks by the owners.
“We’d love to see him as an off-the-track thoroughbred. He has a terrific attitude and he is a kind horse so he has the right attributes to succeed in that arena.”
Santa Ana Lane won ten of his 44 starts, including five Group 1s, a Group 2 and a Group 3. And, of course, a Wagga Town Plate that catapulted him to stardom.