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Son of Rip Van Winkle succumbs to health issues
Dual Group 1 winner Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle) has died, Te Akau announced on Thursday.
The six-year-old gelding developed a degenerative eye condition during the 2020 Sydney autumn carnival and underwent surgery for the issue last year and after he failed to recover completely the son of Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) was retired from racing in December.
Te Akau Racing issued a statement confirming the horse’s death on Thursday: “It is with immense pain and sadness that we announce that our beloved Te Akau Shark has lost his brave health battle.
“We are shattered by your loss and will be eternally grateful to have had you, our great red giant, in our lives.”
Te Akau Shark won seven of his 14 starts which saw him accrue $1,455,290 in career prize-money, while his two best performances came when he landed the Waikato Sprint (Gr 1, 1400m) last February, which he duly followed up with a victory in the Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).
Trained throughout his career by Jamie Richards, the gelding also finished second behind Kolding (Ocean Park) in the 2019 Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m), before posting a third place finish behind Lys Gracieux (Heart’s Cry) in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m).
