New Zealand star Te Akau Shark will undergo further tests to determine the source of soreness which has thwarted his autumn campaign.

Named for his part-owner, NRL star and Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen, Te Akau Shark had been the third favourite for the Doncaster Mile at Randwick on April 6.

After he has a full veterinary examination, Te Akau Shark will head for a spell and return to training in winter.

"We just think he needs a bit of time and we are going to give him a bit of a break and get him ready for the spring," trainer Jamie Richards told NZ Racing Desk.

"He's just a bit sore behind and up high. They are not things that are easily diagnosed, but it's nothing of a major consequence and he's just a horse that needs a bit of time.

"We are going to run some more tests and go through that with our veterinary team and then he will head out to Te Akau Stud and have a good break.

"He is going to be 100 per cent in the long run, we have no doubt."

The four-year-old gelding was unbeaten in his spring campaign, which culminated in victory in the Group Two Couplands Mile in November.

Richards said all going well, Te Akau Shark would begin a spring campaign at home then be sent to Australia.

"We'll be looking at spring in New Zealand to start off with and then over to Australia, be that Sydney or Melbourne we are not quite sure, but we certainly think he is up to it," Richards said.