Marokopa Falls wins at Trentham on debut – 7th Dec 2024 –
Craig Grylls aboard
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Headline NewsDavid Ellis to be inducted into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame
Fortuna 2yo Filly Titahi Bay wins at the trials again – will now debut Listed Wellesly Stakes Trentham 11th January
Shares in Colour Sergeant moving quickly – just 30% left
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Fortuna has just one runner this weekTrentham – Saturday
MAROKOPA FALLS contests the Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes – race 3 at 2.57pm with Craig Grylls taking the mount from barrier 2 in a six horse field. Powerful debut winning performance this track over 1000m two weeks ago – work has been strong since that run – has not missed a beat since her debut win and has taken significant improvement also – is a worthy favourite here and can win – TAB says “winning chance in what appears a suitable race” – showing $2.40 /$1.18
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Trackwork – Fortuna Runners
Thursday 19th December – Riccarton
Sailing Away (D Montes de Oca) galloped over an easy 1200 metres in 1.26.7, last 600 in 38.1.
Porcia Catonis (D Montes de Oca) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.08.8, last 600 in 38.2.
Queen Consort (D Montes de Oca) and Star Shadow (H Durrant) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.03.2, home in 36.9.
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Other News
David Ellis to be inducted into the NZ Racing Hall of Fame
Story by Dennis Ryan
More than four decades after his first experience as a winning owner, David Ellis has been recognised with induction to the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame. Since that first success with the Sovereign Edition filly Magnum at Paeroa in 1978, Ellis has been involved at all levels of racing as an administrator, breeder, buyer and his major footprint, as the founder of New Zealand’s most successful racehorse syndication model, Te Akau.
“I was in my early twenties when I won that race at Paeroa all those years ago, and I thought it was the biggest thrill you could have in life,” Ellis said this week as he reflected on his life in racing. “My trainer Bill Ford came with me into the winner’s room, but he had another horse in the next race that he had to saddle up and I ended up celebrating my first ever win by myself. “That made me think there’s got to be a better way to do this, I realised that I’d rather celebrate together with other people, and that was the beginning of my idea to syndicate horses, bringing people together to enjoy the thrill of winning.”
Ellis was still racing horses in his singular name when he won his first Group One race, the 1986 Easter Handicap, with the Ford-trained Cosmetique, by when his colours were becoming increasingly familiar. “Early on Bill advised me that I should register colours that stood out, that everyone could see, so I thought a good strong colour would be tangerine. I couldn’t get the single colour so I added the blue stars for contrast. As the years have gone by, I think it would be fair to say the tangerine and blue have definitely become well recognised!”
Brand recognition for Ellis has come about by setting goals and surrounding himself with the right people – and horses – to achieve them. Mark Walker has been integral to that success, from the time he was employed by Ellis as an 18-year-old, to setting new benchmarks from his original platform at Te Akau’s Matamata training operation, adding further premierships in Singapore and having prepared an unprecedented 203 New Zealand winners in the 2022-23 season, now at the helm of a tri-stable operation that has expanded to Riccarton and a major Australian foothold at Cranbourne. Another vital team member is Ellis’s wife Karyn, whose key role is managing day-to-day business matters and in particular bringing together the many layers that make up Te Akau’s syndication model.
“There are so many people who without them, I couldn’t have achieved all this,” says the man in the middle. “Karyn runs the business now, which frees me up to run the farm and buy the horses. Mark and have worked together over a long period of time, it’s been a fantastic relationship and he now heads a massive team, from his training partner Sam Bergerson, our assistant trainers Ben Gleeson, Nicole Shailer and Hunter Durrant and our racing manager Reece Trumper, right through to all our staff, our vets and farriers, everybody who works so hard to achieve our goals. It’s quite incredible to think that when Captured By Love won the New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton last month, that was the 98th Group One winner by horses that I’ve either bought, bred or managed under the Te Akau umbrella.”
As well as enjoying such a raft of success, Ellis has also immersed himself in racing industry administration, beginning as a steward with the Waikato Racing Club and covering the full spectrum through to the national body.
“I started at the Waikato Racing as a steward when Ken Brown was chairman and I went up to the committee under Herbie Dyke, eventually becoming chairman myself. During that time I was also chairman of the Waikato District Committee and served on the board of the New Zealand Racing Conference, then NZ Thoroughbred Racing, and NZ Thoroughbred Marketing.”
Various accolades acknowledging his input include the 2017 NZTR Outstanding Contribution to Racing Excellence and he was awarded the CNZM (Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit) on the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Royal Honours list for services to the thoroughbred industry.
Since being advised of his pending induction to the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, which will become official at the induction dinner in May, Ellis has had cause to reflect on his latest accolade. “Any award, whether you’re recognised by your peers or by a higher body, is very humbling and this is certainly no different,” he said. “It’s an absolute honour to think that I’m being acknowledged alongside people who I have admired massively over the years – people like my great late friend Colin Jillings, other hugely successful trainers like Dave O’Sullivan and Jim Gibbs, and industry icons such as Sir Patrick Hogan and Sir Peter Vela. As I keep reminding myself, what I’ve achieved, the recognition I’ve been accorded, none of that would have been possible without those people I’ve already mentioned and so many others – they’ve all made their own contribution. I just want to say a massive thank you to them all, whether they’ve worked for Te Akau over the years, or owners who have invested in our horses, those breeders who have produced so many wonderful performers and everyone who has been part of our success.”
Sourcing his next crop of potential stars is never far from the Ellis mindset, and right now that means scanning catalogues and inspecting drafts for the upcoming summer sales round.
As some measure of that level of investment, in the past year Ellis has signed for 76 young horses at a total value in the region of $25 million.
“It takes a lot of courage to put your hand up and commit to that level, but it’s what we do, bring in long-standing owners as well as new ones and then set to work making their dreams come true. I’m so lucky to do for a living what is also my hobby and to have so many wonderful people supporting me. I’ve always set out to raise the bar and will continue to. By next year we’ll have 70 horses in training at our Cranbourne stable as well as maintaining our numbers in New Zealand.
“It’s incredible to think there are now 105 races worth $1 million or more in Australia – that’s an average of two per week – and it’s fantastic to see the advances we’ve made in New Zealand with the involvement of Entain. Stakes have virtually doubled in the past 18 months and with so many new races like the NZB Kiwi, Champions Day in March, major stakes increases across the board, right down to going to a midweek meeting and racing for $25,000 – all that was unheard of not that long ago.Now it’s important that NZTR, Entain and the TAB work together along with every member of the industry make the most of the opportunity that we now have. That’s what I’ll be doing and so will everyone else I’m associated with – it’s what I’ve always done and will continue to for the good of racing.”
John says “This is a richly deserved reward for David Ellis – unquestionably he has broken new ground with the strength and breadth of the Te Akau training/syndication operation, achieving a scale of success which is unprecedented in the history of New Zealand racing – and that coupled with David’s background as a Club Committeeman, Club Chairman and National Administrator, combines to make him as an individual, one of the truly greats of New Zealand thoroughbred history”
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Fortuna 2yo Filly Titahi Bay wins at the trials again – will now debut Listed Wellesly Stakes Trentham 11th January
Off the back of an impressive trial win at Pukekohe last Tuesday, her second trial win from two trial starts, Titahi Bay (Spirit of Boom – Aotearower), will make her race day debut at Trentham on the 11th of January. She breaks new ground here for a Fortuna two year-old as this is the first time we have sent a 2yo to the races on debut to contest a “black type” event.
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Shares in Colour Sergeant moving quickly – just 30% left
The newly acquired Colour Sergeant has quickly adapted to his new environment at Cranbourne and is coming to hand quickly in the hands of Mark Walker
Mark reports “John, you have done well acquiring this horse – he is really thriving in the Cranbourne environment – since arriving here, he has really picked up in the coat, loves his feed bin and he really enjoys working on the sand dune track we have here, these older horses just love getting their hooves down into the very forgiving surface that track provides – he has adapted here really well and will head to the jumpouts late January and then be off to the races after that.”
Read all about Colour Sergeant below
By the right, quick march – Colour Sergeant is on parade!!!
Lovely Staying Type – Potential Jumping prospect – great value here at just $450 per each 1% share
Well we have managed to have do it again – that is, buying a proven galloper with a top pedigree for not a lot of money – hot on the heels of us buying Dreamflight (by Frankel) in September for just A$30k, we have now acquired the Northern Hemisphere bred seven-year-old Colour Sergeant (by Kingman) for just A$15k off the Inglis Digital Sale
Born in March 2018, Colour Sergeant is still only six years old, turning seven in March 2025 – he had 10 starts in Ireland for a win and nine minor placings, before being brought down to Australia where he raced out of the stable of Matthew Smith in NSW for a further 27 starts winning 3 times (Canberra, Scone and Randwick) and running into the money on several occasions. In recent times, he has been out of form and clearly his Ownership Group ran out of patience and they offered him for sale.
Mark Walker and I always scour the offerings on Inglis Digital looking for types that we think are genuine stayers and also have the potential to be jumping prospects. We identified this horse as having a genuine staying pedigree, and who had got down to a very low rating in the handicaps. We also noted that, despite being Irish bred and having run over decent trips as a 2yo and 3yo (up to 2400m) in Ireland, he only had a handful of starts at 2000m in Australia, where he usually ran in the money and then they would revert him to shorter trips.
Our interest was piqued, so we had him vetted by one of our very good NSW Vets (Paddy Todhunter based in Scone) and he passed with Colours Flying. Paddy did comment on his feet, saying that he needed to be reshod and some adjustments made and that is exactly what happened with Dreamflight also – his feet and shoeing needed a lot of attention and we have been training him without shoes and within a few weeks, his hooves have grown back naturally, he is a lot better in the coat, his action is significantly improved and he now licks his feedbowl clean – and that is what we will be doing with Colour Sergeant also.
In addition to that, these former NSW based horses just thrive at Cranbourne – they love the big open spaces, the sand dune based gallops, the uphill galloping track and the nearby beach, which we use a lot.
Mark of course, loves his jumpers and he has already been schooling Dreamflight and Colour Sergeant will do the same also in due course.
Mark says, “John, well done on securing Colour Sergeant for not a lot of money – I have been through all of his races and he ran some very encouraging minor placings in good company at the metropolitan tracks but I do feel when I look at his pedigree page that he just needs to get over more ground. The beauty of this horse is with him now being at Cranbourne and down to a rating of 61, he will get plenty of opportunity to make his mark in relatively weak company over decent trips – we have bought three or four of this type of horse in recent times including Midnight Blue who won the Seymour Cup for us a few weeks ago and of course as you know we have made giant strides with Dreamflight whom you bought in September. Colour Sergeant is by Kingman, one of the leading Sires in Great Britain and the female side of the family has produced a succession of really good stayers over several generations. So what we will do with this horse is train him without shoes for a while and let his feet grow naturally, get him working out in the sand dune tracks here at Cranbourne, get him working up the hill track also and get him out to the beach from time to time. I’m aiming to get him to a jumpout in late January and all going well we should then be off to the races. He will also get plenty of schooling as I think this horse could be one that is a great jumping prospect – physically he is a very attractive type of horse who moves well, he vetted well, and I think your owners are going to have a lot of fun with him, particularly given that you haven’t paid a lot of money for him”
Initially, our plan had been to spell him for three or four weeks after he had arrived at Cranbourne but Mark was actually there when he arrived and after having a good look at him and getting the farriers advice he’s decided to put him straight into light work and prepare him for a jump out towards the end of January
Click HERE to see his winning run over 1600m at Randwick
Click HERE to see him parading at Cranbourne with voiceover from Mark
Colour Sergeant
Pedigree
Colour Sergeant is by Kingman, the winner of eight races in Europe and a leading Stallion in Great Britain (currently 4th on the General Sires list as the 2024 season draws to a close). His Dam is the German bred Quilita, a winner at 1800m and Group 3 placed – she is also the dam of seven foals to the races, six of whom have been winners. This is a prolific German family of genuine staying types over several generations
See his pedigree below
All up he is to be syndicated for NZ$45,000 – this includes his sale price, Aus GST, Promoters Fees, Vet fees, insurance through to 31 Jan 2026 and a healthy working capital figure of just under $12k Full details, including the syndicate disclosure statement and syndicate agreement can be seen on the Fortuna website at the link HERE and orders can be made directly off this link also
Terms
- Shares available right down to 1%.
- 10% share $4,500, 5% share $2,250, 2.5% share $1,125, 1% share $450 – with ongoing costs from 1 January 2025 @$60 per month per each 1% share
- Initial Capital includes Purchase Price, Aus GST, Promoters fees, Vet fees, Insurance to 31 Jan 2026, and working capital of just over $10k
- Monthly ongoing costs from 1stJanuary 2025 – from that date ongoing costs are –10% share $600 per month – 5% share $300 per month – 2.5% share $150 per month – 1% share $60 per month.
- Monthly ongoing costs can alternatively be paid up to 12 months in advance as an option for subscribers by Bank Payment or Credit Card
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Guest Selector – Des Coppins
Greetings John and Fortuna followers,
Another very exciting week looms and I’ll be at Trentham on Saturday for the Manawatu Cup meeting
I’m expecting to see the very professional Marokopa Falls, with the winning experience down the TAB chute, to give John and Fortuna owners a big thrill again as she goes up against stablemate Cool Aza Rene and others in the Happy Hire $175,000 Wakefield Challenge Stakes.
It’s a prized trophy steeped in wonderful history with the likes of Daryl’s Joy, Our Maizcay, Jimmy Choux, Happyanunoit and Wahid just a few of the memorable winners in the 64 year history.
Can the Fortuna filly do it? I reckon she will!
Last week the three horses we mentioned as big winners this summer are all on point; if I was forced to have a bet now on the Wellington Cup on January 18 I’d be sticking with Testify Me who came from almost last on the turn to grind away with the third quickest final sectionals in the Waikato Cup. Yaldi cost himself dearly when he star gazed over the final furlong when looking all over the winner while Karman Line, who may have found the 1400m too sharp, still ran the 4th fastest last 200 in running 8th. A race like the Rich Hill Mile may be a target. Keep her in mind.
This week my three to follow are:
Paravane, race 3 Te Rapa
She trialled well twice last autumn before being set aside but she’s been working well since from all reports; capped off by a comfortable trial win at Counties where she ran straight and true.
She’s on debut but I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t measure up.
The Te Akau team have some quality three year olds and to note that Paravane holds a spot in the Top Kat Roofing Levin Classic tells us plenty!
Kingfisher, race 4 Trentham
This horse always wins third up and while he’s second up this weekend he had two trials before resuming at Tauranga the other week and you can rest assured he will be nigh on perfect for Trentham.
The Wexford stables are in a purple patch of form lately and they’ve provided a fair bit of value for punters along the way and we’ve got some, too!
Around the $12 mark, Kingfisher is certainly worth an each way play.
My third horse to follow, Waiata, another from the Wexford barn, has accepted for three races; two at Matamata on Friday and one at Te Rapa.
Don’t let it slip under your guard.
It may well race in the opener at Matamata where the odds at time of writing are around the $8 mark. If it can get past Tardelli, it’ll go very close.
The trials have been superb.
Stop Press:
We’ve had a very good run this season; the odd skip up but overall our Best Bets in particular have kept us on the right side of the ledger.
Let’s do a Xmas gift for a close mate, if you are already a subscriber, or for your good self.
We have over 40 race days between now and January 31 with some excellent racing at big carnivals.
I’m offering the full email race by race tipping service with the Best Bets and Value Bets for just $100 gst inclusive starting on Boxing Day as my Xmas gift to Fortuna followers for this rich racing period.
If you’re keen drop me an email dcoppins@xtra.co.nz
It’s Xmas after all!
Can I wish you and family and close friends a very merry time of it over the next few days ; stay safe and of course, good punting!
Des Coppins
021 448 052
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