Mark Walker and Te Akau Trifecta the Australian Grand National

[Chief Stipe]

Te Akau trifecta in Australian Grand National

loveracing.nzhttps://bitofayarn.com

Leaderboard and Will Gordon on their way to winning the Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat. (Image: Racing Photos)

Te Akau trainer Mark Walker made history at Ballarat on Sunday with an unprecedented trifecta in the A$400,000 Ecycle Solutions Grand National Steeplechase (4500m).

Walker saddled Leaderboard for a 25-length win in the showpiece steeplechase, with The Mighty Spar second and Prismatic third.

It capped an enormously special Sunday for Walker and the Te Akau Racing team, who also took three runners to Taupo and came away with three winners – Carsolio, To Bravery Born and In Haste.

Former Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) and Listed New Zealand St Leger (2600m) winner Leaderboard settled in second spot on Sunday for jockey Will Gordon before taking command when topweight Stern Idol began to tire.

Leaderboard and the favourite Noonday Gun seemed set to fight out a tight battle to the finish, but Noonday Gun fell at the final fence and left Leaderboard to cruise to a runaway win.

“I can’t really believe it,” Gordon said. “I went out there without any pressure, just riding my race, riding the horse. Going down the back the last time, I thought, ‘I’ve still got a bit of horse here and might be in the finish.’

“He’s a legend of a horse. Everyone that rides him, or has anything to do with him, just loves and adores him.

“There will be a line out the door that want this horse at the end of his racing career. He’s such a gentleman, such a dude to do anything with, a great jumper, and what you saw today was no better of example of that.https://bitofayarn.com

“There are no chinks in his armour. He jumps, travels, and I was happy where we were in the run to be tracking Stern Idol. We got easy enough sectionals behind him and I thought he would be vulnerable late.

“We were able to sit on his tail, conserve energy, and like I said, his jumping was great. He did the rest.

“For me, the win is right up there. This is one that has been missing off my mantelpiece and to tick this one off, they’re hard races to win and only come up once a year.”

Leaderboard has now had 68 starts for 12 wins, 19 placings and A$861,388 in stakes. Five of his wins have come over jumps, including four steeplechases.

“It was a great ride by Will and it’s great to see all three horses come back safe,” Walker said.

“The girls that strap them, Hayley (Morton) with the winner, Emma (Wilson) with The Mighty Spar, and Lisa (Strike) with Prismatic – they just love these horses. They’re got a dual purpose as well, these older horses, because they help out in the stables by educating the yearlings.”

Leaderboard is raced by John Galvin’s Fortuna Leaderboard Syndicate.

“The win would have to go down as one of the highlights we’ve had with Fortuna Racing,” Galvin said on Sunday.

“The big thing I felt about today was redemption for Leaderboard, because he had that unfortunate fall in the Brierley Steeplechase (3450m), back in April, but he’d run three very good races since then for seconds.

“He’d been beaten by Stern Idol in two of those, and today he was able to come out and beat not only Stern Idol, but also the up-and-comer Noonday Gun.

“It was a huge thrill. The whole race, he was right there. You got the feeling he was always going to be in contention, provided, A, he could run past Stern Idol, and, B, he was able to fend off the grey horse (Noonday Gun).

“We had two of his owners with us, Shane and Colleen Ivory, and they were here last year, as well, when he ran second. So, it was great for them to be here today and see him win.

“It’s an unbelievable training feat by Mark (Walker) to get the trifecta, the first time it’s ever been done in the race.

“While having plenty of international experience, Mark is a relatively new trainer to the Australian racing circuit, and he’s managed to have his three runners fill the first three placings in the most prestigious jumps race in Australia.

“It’s a great effort and for him, specifically, with Leaderboard. He just loves the horse to bits and has nurtured him over the last few years to create an outstanding jumps career.”

[Chief Stipe]

Replay of the Australian Grand National 2025https://bitofayarn.com

[Chief Stipe]

Interview with Winning Jockey

[Gammalite]

What a great photo at the top Chief.

Clearing the Jump beautifully.  congrats to all the connections 🏆.

What do you think of the shadow roll though ? on those 2 horses? seems like it would be hard for them to see the jump properly when they get really close to it . 

Is this a tactic ? to make them jump with Just slightly more effort just in case they clip it on the way over ? 

seems like they would be slightly un-sighted when close to jump (like the 2nd horse in the photo is ) and this make them jump more aggressively than they otherwise might ? 

that is my theory guess but would like to know what you think ?  

[Chief Stipe]

Interview with Mark Walker after the win

https://bitofayarn.com

[Chief Stipe]

7 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Is this a tactic ? to make them jump with Just slightly more effort just in case they clip it on the way over ? 

seems like they would be slightly un-sighted when close to jump (like the 2nd horse in the photo is ) and this make them jump more aggressively than they otherwise might ? 

that is my theory guess but would like to know what you think ?  

Could be.  I don't really know but my logic says what the shadow roll does is make the horse look ahead rather than down and keeps their head up.  With their head up they are less likely to lose their front feet on landing.

LOL or it could be that they can't see the shadows or uneven ground below them hence the name "shadow roll".

[Huey]

How good is that ,$1m worth of bloodstock trifecting a jumps race ... go TA!

[Huey]

Chief will be doing cartwheels,  there was 2 other horses in the race ... cmon the Tangerine! 

[Gammalite]

Just now, Huey said:

How good is that ,$1m worth of bloodstock trifecting a jumps race ... go TA!

Absolutely brilliant . What a great training achievement . A trifecta in a Grand National. is hard to believe it happened.

should send the winner to Aintree I reckon. Put Oz and NZ on the Map for the poms. (they keep sending things to pinch the Melbourne or Sydney Cups ) probably the Brisbane one as well , but it's gone low key and No one knows anymore . Used to be a public holiday here for its running Queens B'day . but the tradition died. (along with her Majesty as well) 

Good to see a Grand National tradition Continuing though !! 

Imagine how proud those 3 young ladies that Strap them are . Hayley , Emma and Lisa. Real unsung heroes of the racing world , that must school them and do hundreds of hours pampering too lol 😆.

Hope they get Shouted 3 Big framed Photos  for their Home walls by TA. a moment to remember for them.

 

[Chief Stipe]

Leaderboard has now won over AUD$800k including a Wellington Cup.  Paid $50 to win that day.  Won 12 times now.

Overall the three horses in the trifecta have won over AUD$1.5m.

 

[curious]

9 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Could be.  I don't really know but my logic says what the shadow roll does is make the horse look ahead rather than down and keeps their head up.  With their head up they are less likely to lose their front feet on landing.

Opposite I think. Keeps their head down. Head up with a shadow roll they couldn't see where they were going!

[Chief Stipe]

I see Fortuna bought Leaderboard in the UK for about NZD$200k.

 

[Chief Stipe]

13 minutes ago, curious said:

Opposite I think. Keeps their head down. Head up with a shadow roll they couldn't see where they were going!

Perhaps it isn't the head but where the eyes are looking.  Obviously with a shadow roll they can't see the ground beneath and can only see further forward.  I might ask a couple of trainers what they think.

[Huey]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Leaderboard has now won over AUD$800k including a Wellington Cup.  Paid $50 to win that day.  Won 12 times now.

Overall the three horses in the trifecta have won over AUD$1.5m.

 

Great to see those jumpers going for good money,  with such a patient stable too! Cmon the Tangerine.

[Spatchcock]

11 hours ago, Gammalite said:

 

should send the winner to Aintree I reckon. ) 

 

 

Those Aintree fences are a lot different to the Aussie ones. A horse like Captains Run would be good at Aintree.

[Gammalite]

23 minutes ago, Spatchcock said:

Those Aintree fences are a lot different to the Aussie ones. A horse like Captains Run would be good at Aintree.

Those fences in England (at Aintree)  are generally all loose stuff . They do 2 laps in the Grand National and after the first Lap a team of Workers at Every fence hurriedly repair the fence , stacking all the 'fence brush' back on, ready for the next lap. One day one of those workers will get 'Cleaned up ' by a loose riderless horse I reckon. 

What a race it is though.😳 Never seen so many death-defying stunts performed in just a few minutes, by so many.

Incredible fails to describe it really.  Field of 30 to 40 starters usually. 

Near best horse on the planet, if you win that one. Send Leaderboard over and give it a go I reckon. 

 

[Chief Stipe]

15 minutes ago, Gammalite said:

Near best horse on the planet, if you win that one. Send Leaderboard over and give it a go I reckon. 

 

Well Leaderboard does have UK 3yr old staying form.

[Gammalite]

7 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Well Leaderboard does have UK 3yr old staying form.

What a Beautiful beast of a horse. 

The 'Bulk' of the UK jumping season is from November to April. 

He could win 6 jumps in that time and finish with the Grand National on April 4th.

Give the Akau a ring Chief. I'll fly with him (for free ) if they're too chicken to send anyone or need staff to do it.

and get him primed to Be the Best Beast in World. bigger and badder than Leap To Fame even 😎🍻

 

[Chief Stipe]

He's by Street Cry the same sire as Winx was by.

[Huey]

2 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Those fences in England (at Aintree)  are generally all loose stuff . They do 2 laps in the Grand National and after the first Lap a team of Workers at Every fence hurriedly repair the fence , stacking all the 'fence brush' back on, ready for the next lap. One day one of those workers will get 'Cleaned up ' by a loose riderless horse I reckon. 

What a race it is though.😳 Never seen so many death-defying stunts performed in just a few minutes, by so many.

Incredible fails to describe it really.  Field of 30 to 40 starters usually. 

Near best horse on the planet, if you win that one. Send Leaderboard over and give it a go I reckon. 

 

He would lap them in the Grand National... go the Tangerine!

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, Huey said:

He would lap them in the Grand National... go the Tangerine!

Been a while since the Tangarine graced the turf of Aintree. Well it's more of a 'Puke' Yellow with red sleeves. but close enough 😋

About time someone went there to Lap them once again.

This fellow ridden by Pitman too in the photo 🤣. was about a lap in front ( or one complete fence at one stage) 

RED RUM unfortunately became the immortal of all time and ran him down late. 

Look at the size of that fence ? Kangaroos would be flat out to clear that. 

But Time for another Crack at it Huey. Bring on LEADERBOARD  2026. 

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, Gammalite said:

Been a while since the Tangarine graced the turf of Aintree. Well it's more of a 'Puke' Yellow with red sleeves. but close enough 😋

About time someone went there to Lap them once again.

This fellow ridden by Pitman too in the photo 🤣. was about a lap in front ( or one complete fence at one stage) 

RED RUM unfortunately became the immortal of all time and ran him down late. 

Look at the size of that fence ? Kangaroos would be flat out to clear that. 

But Time for another Crack at it Huey. Bring on LEADERBOARD  2026. 

So much for the alleged uneven ground at Te Aroha!!!

[TAB For Ever]

On 8/18/2025 at 7:55 AM, Chief Stipe said:

I see Fortuna bought Leaderboard in the UK for about NZD$200k.

 

At the time he was bought for 70,000 Guineas from Tattersalls Horses in Trading sale. He had a modest record of 1 win [ 2400m] from about 9 starts against mainly modest maiden fields in Ireland. Add $30 k travel, insurance and Synd admin costs and eventually GST and about $240k had been spent on him !

Then connections thought he could be better placed in Australia so he went to Sydney , disappointed in a couple of races way too short for him so back to NZ.

It took a while to work out that he much preferred left hand tracks and he'd be best at distances between 2 and 4 miles !

He picked up a couple of early races at Riccarton  but it was a while later that it was discovered he needed a wet track and was very effective in NZ Cup [3rd @50/1] and Wellington Cup[ 1st ]  when heavy rain ruined the chances of many in field.

Seems to retain @11 years old a real enthusiasm for racing which stands him in good stead !

 

[TAB For Ever]

On 8/18/2025 at 11:49 AM, Gammalite said:

What a Beautiful beast of a horse. 

The 'Bulk' of the UK jumping season is from November to April. 

He could win 6 jumps in that time and finish with the Grand National on April 4th.

Give the Akau a ring Chief. I'll fly with him (for free ) if they're too chicken to send anyone or need staff to do it.

and get him primed to Be the Best Beast in World. bigger and badder than Leap To Fame even 😎🍻

 

Great enthusiasm there Gamma , I'd go too ,but can't see it happening.

He will be spelled now to try those top Aussie races again next year ,but will not be treated so well in weights in future ! Plus Aussie jumps races may not have much of future !

I gotta say Ive followed his career very closely and he one of my favourites ,especially as early on my old school/uni mate tasmanman gifted me a small share in him . He had a few setbacks and the odd foot issue but any horse than can win a Wellington Cup is unique and now an Aussie Grand National. Special !