Wekaforce – May the Force be with You
Wekaforce – The highs and Lows of being a High Performance Athlete 1/2/21
Wingatui + Weather + Wekaforce 29/12/20
Preparation for the Telegraph 23/12/20
A Day of Firsts – Wekaforce takes out the Pegasus 7/11/20
Sisters Compete in the Pegasus 7/11/20
2/10/20 – Wekaforce Makes Headlines
5/8/20 – Wekaforce Bucking her Brands Off
13/7/20 – Wekaforce Act 1, Scene 1 – Action!!
5/7/20 – Wekas Working in Win ter Weather
27/1/19 – Check out Them Ears!!
17th Nov 2018 – the 1000 Guineas
Wekaforce Preparation for the 1000 Guineas progressing Nov 2018
Pike Confident Despite Missed Run – Wekaforce to Contest the Barnswood 20/10/18
To The Bay or to The Mainland?
8 June 2018
Extreme Sports………
June 2nd 2018 – Wanganui on a Slow 9 = a slow 8
The Pike Report:
A disappointing result yesterday in the Castletown. Track conditions were always going to be the big query with her good action.
She was unsettled in the barrier and missed the jump which is unlike her. It made it very difficult after that especially in the prevailing track conditions. She never travelled in the ground after that and Michael looked after her in the straight when not a winning chance.
Her work had been very good leading into the race and I was confident she would run well if she handled the soft conditions.
She will head for a short break before getting ready for the three year old fillies races. We know she has the ability and will look to keep her on firmer ground next season. I’m sure she will bounce back after a break and back on a firmer surface.
| Pos | Name | Jockey | Trainer | Wgt | Mgn | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | LONDON EXPRESS | Johnathan Parkes | Allan Sharrock | 54.5 | 6.80 | |
| 02 | QIJI EXPRESS | Matthew Cameron | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | 56.5 | 0.6 | 3.10 |
| 03 | SECRET ALLURE | Rosie Myers | Lisa Latta | 54.5 | 1.9 | 3.20 |
| 04 | SENTIMENTAL MISS | Robert Hannam | Lisa Latta | 54.5 | 3.2 | 18.20 |
| 05 | ZANIAH | Michael Coleman | Stephen Marsh | 54.5 | 8.9 | 13.40 |
| 06 | WHAT A SMASHER | Lisa Allpress | Kevin Gray | 54.5 | 11.3 | 12.40 |
| 07 | GLIDE QUEEN | Danielle Hirini | Matthew Eales | 54.5 | 12.3 | 68.30 |
| 08 | WEKAFORCE | Michael McNab | Tony Pike | 54.5 | 24.8 | 5.40 |
| SC | RITZY SPARKLE | Samantha Collett | Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards | 54.5 |
16 May 2018
Weka4ce – a Force to be Reckoned With !
24 April 2018
Wekaforce and Tony Pike have a Great Day at the Te Teko Trials 24/4/18
Wekaforce impresses at the Te Teko Trials – she couldn’t have done it better – Hmmmm – this is good fun……
19 April 2018
Wekaforce performed well in a Jumpout on Thursday 19th April. She acted like a true professional and handled herself well. View the jumpout here
7 Feb 2018
Wekaforce performed well at her second jump-out on the 2nd February. Tony Pike is impressed with her performance and her professional attitude. Due to a touch of the usual two year old shin soreness, Weka4ce will take a short break before coming back into work at the beginning of March to contest some two year old races in the Autumn. Click on the link to view her work sheet to date
18/1/18 Wekaforce has her first jump-out and acts like a professional!
Pike report states:
We took her to the Jump Outs at Cambridge on Thursday morning. She jumped away cleanly and showed a lot of professionalism. She has a lovely action and a great attitude to go with it. There are trials at Cambridge on the 5th February that we would like to get her to but she will have another jump out in between that time. We can’t fault her at this stage and we will be in touch after her next jump out.
Here is a link to her jump out – she is in gate number two (next to the tractor side of the track) she is wearing the red and white cap.
Wekaforce arrives at Pikes 29th November 2017
Wekaforce at Woodside 28th October 2017
30 Nov 2018
Weka4ce – completed her second round of education and pre-training under the tutelage of Bruce Herd at Kamada Park .
Listen to this interview with Bruce Herd
Bruce Herd interview August 2017
Wekaforce – full sister to Morweka
Galloping Weka Syndicate #4
The Galloping Wekas Syndicates – #1 / #2 / #3 / #4
- Leases and races a thoroughbred filly from the Blue Hope and Spera family.
- The lease commences 1st Sept 2017 and covers a two year programme to 1st Sept 2019
- Option to renew the lease for a further 12 months is available.
- Option to renew continues if the horse shows promise on the track
- It’s up to you as to how much of a percentage you want
- A 1% share is $30 a month. A 5% share is $150 a month. A 10% share is $300.
- We have some syndicate members who have split the 1% share between three mates so that they can have an interest in racing the filly. We also have some syndicate members who have taken on 10% share holding
- Whatever your share percentage, it entitles you to full racing and bragging rights
The Syndicate Calendar for Weka4ce – the 2015 filly by Showcasing out of Spera – a full sister to Morweka
Flexibility is required when dealing with a living animal, there are no guarantees, however here’s a broad plan below that outlines what would likely be the plan for this filly – nicknamed Weka4ce – during the next two years:
April 2017 – Weka4ce was broken in and educated Bruce Herd at Kamada Park has handled this process and speaks very highly of the filly.
August 2017 – Weka4 returned to Kamada Park for another month’s education
Sept 1st 2017 – The Galloping Weka’s Syndicate #4 is set up to race Weka4
Sept 2017: Education, pre-training at Kamada Park Continues
Oct 2017 – spelling at Greytown
Nov 2017 – Back to Kamada for more education and pretraining
Nov 2017 – on to main stable: Training, jump-outs
Feb 7th 2018: Spelling – three weeks
March – May 2018: Training trials and racing
Winter months June – July 2018: Spelling
Sept – Oct 2018: Pre-training for a spring campaign with a view to contesting the three year old races
There’s an option to renew the lease if you wish to continue the filly’s racing career for another 12 months, which would mean the horse races as a four year old.
The Galloping Weka Syndicates – FAQs:
How’s the money spent?
We estimate it will cost about $3000 a month to race the filly in total. The money you pay for your share goes directly to the expenses of racing the the filly (no one from the syndicate profits from this payment, it all goes into expenses). If the filly wins a race and stakes money, then the money is accumulated to be paid out at the end of the lease, or before if there is just too much money sitting in the account (yes we are optimists); or if the filly shows absolute promise, there will be an opportunity to race the filly across the ditch – in which case this has to be self funded by stakes and will only happen if the fillies are good enough and the money is is the slush fund to make this opportunity possible. The potential is endless, but there is no guarantee of a win.
Syndicate members are consulted about this programme and all accounting processes are very transparent – full copies of invoices and bank statements are emailed to syndicate members every month.
What are the main expenses?
- Agistment, feed and supplements
- Breaking-in and pre-training
- Training fees
- Animal health including veterinary care, drenching, supplements etc
- Farrier
- Horse covers and saddler
- Floating
- Nominations and Acceptances
- Track Fees
- GST
- Insurance
- Syndicate Administration fee
What could the horse win?
That’s a tough one to answer. No one knows how a racehorse will go until it’s running. But to give you an idea of what’s out there, have a look at this PDF – GROUP RACES BY CATEGORY. It outlines all the Group and Listed races (which means the best races) New Zealand has during the racing year. Of course there are a lot more races that are not listed here, which offer smaller prize money and less competition.
Is the horse bred to be eligible for any bonus schemes?
Yes, the filly’s are all eligible for the Pearl Bonus Series, which is run by the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Association. The series offers almost $2.6 million in bonuses and prize money of nearly $2.8 million across 200 individual races for fillies and mares. Go to the NZTBA website for more information, or have a yarn to Janine or Les about this (I haven’t researched this myself, I just know some horses can be entered into these bonuses when they’re bred).
If the horse wins nothing?
The worst case scenario is you will have paid out over two years with no winnings. That would suck of course, but at least you would have hopefully had fun going to some racedays to support the horse, joined in on some social gatherings and had learnt something about horse racing. I guess that’s the best way of looking at it – for fun first. If horse wins races and you make something, that’s just an awesome bonus.
If the horse is injured?
If the horse gets an injury, the syndicate will face vet fees, spelling time for the horse to recuperate and delays in racing. If injured badly and unable to race at all, the lease of the filly will be terminated. Monthly payments would be cease accordingly.
If the horse is awesome enough to go to Australia?
Australia is the holy grail for big races and big prize money, but the competition is fierce. New Zealand horses need to earn the right to go on their OE, mainly in the form of prize money won and ability on proven ability.
Can I opt out of the Syndicate at any time?
If you become a Galloping Weka, you initially sign up for two years (that’s how long the horse needs to get two good racing seasons). To opt out before the lease comes up for renewal will mean paperwork and the need to re-sign a whole new syndicate lease, also that’s when the horse will be having a solid crack because it’s got experience. Because of this, if you join, it is a personal commitment for two years. Of course there is no obligation for you to renew your share at the end of two years, but the option is there if you would like to stay on board.
More questions?
Give Janine, Les or Joe a yell. 021 488 093
THE GALLOPING WEKAS 