Denied the opportunity to race in the Group One Windsor Park Plate at Hastings on Saturday, the 8yo Irish Bred Gelding, CHANCE TO DANCE (Teofilo-Crystal Ballet) seized the moment  the following day with victory in the Karaka Classic (Listed)  at Pukekohe. Fresh up over 1600 metres and carrying top weight of 60kgs under Handicap conditions on a Heavy 10 track, CHANCE TO DANCE certainly looked vulnerable, as a Fixed Odds Price of $18 on the morning of the race would attest to. Ridden by Opie Bosson, the horse jumped nicely from a good draw and raced mid field, Bosson resisted the option of going wide on the turn, content to stay one out from the rail and wait for openings  to come in the run home. The gaps opened and Bosson urged his willing mount between two horses with just 50 metre to go and prevailed on the line by a neck.

Click HERE to see the race replay

CHANCE TO DANCE winning Karaka Classic – Counties Racing Club – September 24th 2017

Fortuna Director John Galvin accompanied by more than 30 ecstatic owners was glowing after the race. “This horse has always had a bit of quality about him based on his very good Irish and Australian form – he has thrived here in New Zealand under the new Training Team and we think he has a lot more to give us yet.”

Holding nominations for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, the next race for CHANCE TO DANCE is likely to be the Group One Livamol Classic (2040 metres) at Hastings on 7th October, giving his Trainers, Te Akau Racing’s Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards a strong hand to play in that event, given that they also train race favourite, Gingernuts.

CHANCE TO DANCE, formerly owned by Lloyd Williams, was acquired by Fortuna on the recommendation of Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker, at the Inglis Chairmans Sale in Sydney in April 2017 for A$260,000. He had his first start in the first running of the 2017 Sydney Cup finishing 2nd in the race, only to find the the race had been declared a “no race” by the Stewards. He finished 5th in the subsequent re-run two weeks later. He is now the winner of eight races from just 29 starts and has career earnings of close to $500,000. He is raced by the Chance to Dance Syndicate, an ownership group of 78 individuals.

Seven Year Old Gelding KING SAVINSKY (Savabeel-Lynisky) led all the way on his home course of Penang in Malaysia.Beautifully rated in front by S Salee, he held on bravely on very heavy track conditions to score his sixth career win, including successes in New Zealand (one), Singapore (three) and Malaysia (two).

KING SAVINSKY is trained at Penang by ex-pat Kiwi conditioner Sharee Hamilton.

Click HERE to see race Video replay 

KING SAVINSKY was selected and acquired by David Ellis on behalf of Fortuna Syndicators at the 2012 Karaka yearling sale for the sum of $95,000 and is raced by the Fortuna King Savinsky Syndicate, an ownership group of  29 individuals

CHANCE TO DANCE  to make his NZ Racing debut this weekend.

The 8yo son of Teofilo, acquired by Fortuna at Sydney’s Chairman’s sale last April will either make his NZ debut in the (Group One) Windsor Park Plate at Hastings on Saturday 23rd or the (Listed) Karaka Classic at Pukekohe Sunday 24th, both races over the 1600 metre trip. Ranked the 8th highest rated horse in the Windsor Park, CHANCE TO DANCE is, due to the Race Entry Conditions, ranked 19th in Order of Entry and would need 5 withdrawals to make the field. “We will accept at both venues and make a decision later in the week” said Fortuna Director, John Galvin. “Either of these races are designed as a lead up race for the Livamol Classic (7th October) and while, under normal circumstances, we would be happy to take the softer option of the Counties race, it looks like it could be a very Heavy Track there on Sunday and that would not be ideal as a lead up race for the 2000 metre event 13 days later.” The winner of 5 races in Ireland and Australia and NZ$455,000 in prize money, CHANCE TO DANCE has a NZ rating of 101

The NZ Racing Board (TAB) continues to Sleepwalk

Item in italics below from the Informant racing publication.

Last week the New Zealand Racing Board learnt that the Australian Parliament had passed legislation banning anyone based in Australia from betting on racing or sports through offshore agencies. It is believed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act, which was first tabled in Canberra late last year, was aimed at rogue betting platforms in Asia and elsewhere, but perhaps inadvertently the New Zealand TAB was caught up in the same net.

The NZRB, which incorporates our TAB, became aware of the legislation last week and acknowledging that it would be breaking the law, one of its first moves was to notify its Australian-based account holders – said to number around 800 – that they had been locked out of their accounts and any monies therein would be refunded by cheque.

Even so, the situation the TAB now finds itself is far from satisfactory, as agreed by NZRB CEO John Allen when he discussed the matter with www.theinformant.co.nz.

“When the Select Committee in Canberra was working through the proposed legislation they wrote to what they deemed relevant organisations, but as far as I’m aware no New Zealand organisation was invited to make a submission,” Allen said.

“We knew Australia was going to clamp down on illegal gambling operators, but the New Zealand TAB certainly wasn’t seen as one of them. What happened was they came up with a solution and the absolutely unintended consequence was that our Australian account holders have been blocked.”

We can only shake our heads at this – here we have an organisation ( NZ Racing Board) on which the three racing codes are almost completely dependent on their source of income (betting percentages), an organisation which is extremely top heavy with highly paid executives and they seemed to have been completely and utterly unaware of how this situation was unfolding. Talk about getting caught with your pants down!!!! CEO John Allen can put as much spin on it as he likes, but the reality is that TAB income from its Australian based customers will now cease and New Zealanders traveling to Australia will be unable to bet via the NZ TAB on their cell phones or laptops. Just to show how much these highly paid TAB people actually know about racing, one of them came up with a solution to the New Zealanders traveling in Australia problem by suggesting “that a solution would be to place your bets before heading to Australia.”  What a joke!!! This “spokesman” was unnamed of course!!!

Fortuna runners this week

CHANCE TO DANCE either at Hastings on 23rd or Counties 24th, HIDDEN PROMISE  Singapore Friday 22nd while OUR RIVER DANCER, READY FORTUNE and KING SAVINSKY all racing on their home track of Penang Saturday 23rd.

Weather Conditions making it hard for Trainers

A few more grey hairs and furrowed brows are apparent among the ranks of NZ Trainers at the moment as they struggle with sodden training tracks, postponed and canceled trials and the need to prepare their equine charges adequately ahead of their upcoming Spring and Summer racing targets. The need for an all-weather  racing/training facility is very apparent, but until implementation of such a project, Trainers (and Owners) just have to suck up the conditions as best they can. Te Akau Training Stables will soon take delivery of a mechanical walker, a device which would certainly be useful for helping horses  get fit when weather conditions are difficult. Ironically, the bad weather is not over all of NZ, Hasting track as at 9am this morning is a Good 3!!!!

Fortuna’s MELODY BELLE crowned Champion Two Year Old of the Year

Sunday evening 10th September saw an expectant crowd of 500 people plus at Auckland’s Langham Hotel for the 2017 NZ Thoroughbred Horse of The Year Awards. Included amongst those present were 30 guests of Fortuna Ltd, there to support the Fortuna Filly, MELODY BELLE who was one of three nominees (Gold Fever and Summer Passage were the other two) for the prestigious Two Year Old of The Year Award. Melody Belle and Summer Passage had finished their stellar 2yo seasons on equal ratings points, so while Fortuna Director, John Galvin, was reasonably confident that his charge would get the nod, it certainly wasn’t a done deal in his mind. Voting for these awards is done by a panel of 57 individuals associated with racing, comprising Racing writers and other media, Industry Office holders and other relevant parties. In the end, John need not have worried with 46 votes going to MELODY BELLE and 11 to SUMMER PASSAGE. Observing their Filly’s name pulled from the envelope brought a few tears of joy to the eyes of her Members present. John Galvin accepted the Award on behalf of the Fortuna Melody Belle Syndicate, an ownership Group of 34 people. For the record, Melody Belle, who was a $57,500 purchase at the 2016 Karaka Premier Sale, started seven times, for four wins and a third during her 2yo season and amassed prizempney of $865,000. Her wins included the Karaka Million (Listed), the Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes (Group One) and the Queensland Sires Produce Stakes (Group Two)

Of significant note also from the evening was the award to Te Akau Principal, David Ellis, of the very prestigious “Outstanding Contribution to Racing” Award. John Galvin comments “this award to David is long overdue – he is literally a giant of our industry and has made a huge contribution to Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand – I am very proud to have David as a very good friend and a wonderful business associate.”

CHANCE TO DANCE Taupo Track Gallop

Canceled trials at Cambridge last Thursday and again Tuesday 12th (due to rain sodden track) led the Te Akau Training Team to float a few of their horses with upcoming assignments to Taupo Tuesday 12th to gallop under reasonable track conditions. Fortuna 8yo CHANCE TO DANCE  was one of those and in the hands of Opie Bosson and galloping with stable mate HUSHED, he ran 1200 metres in 1.18, the last 600 in 38.4, solid work on a track rated as a Slow 7. CHANCE TO DANCE, who ran 5th for the Fortuna team in the 2017 Sydney Cup, has his main NZ Spring target as the 2000 Metre Livamol Classic (Group One) at Hastings on 7th October and a strong performance there could see him contest the Caulfield Cup on 21st October.

Fortuna Singapore runners this week.

Friday night in Singapore sees last start winner, the 5yo gelding, HIDDEN PROMISE, race in a Class 4 event over 1600 metres. Now the winner of three races in Singapore, “Bart” as he is nicknamed, has proven to be a very progressive type and his performance in Friday’s race, his first time in Class 4 company, should provide a good guide as to his future prospects in Singapore. Sunday evening in Singapore sees 4yo Gelding, MAJOR TOM, race in the Class 3 event over 1200 metres. The impressive winner of three races in Singapore in the 2017 season, he disappointed in his last two starts, striking very firm tracks not to his liking. Freshened and back to 1200 metres with blinkers on for the first time, he is being given his chance to atone.

NZ RACING DESK reports

Melody Belle is back in work with trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards ahead of another Group One campaign.

Last season’s Gr. 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and Karaka Million winner enjoyed a good break after a Queensland campaign that netted a victory in the Gr. 2 Queensland Sires’ Produce Stakes.

“She had an eight-week spell after returning from Brisbane and has now just finished three weeks’ pre-training on the walker,” Fortuna Syndications director John Galvin said.

“Jamie and Steve will now get her ready for a trial later in the spring, and race plans at this stage are to have her resuming over 1200 metres in early December, then into the Sistema Railway at Ellerslie on New Year’s day before tackling the Karaka 3YO Classic at the end of January.”

Expectations were high for the Fortuna 5yo Mare, ITS OUR SHOWTIME resuming at Ruakaka last Saturday – her work had been first class and she had won a trial at Te Teko in early August, however victory was not to be with her not getting all favours in the run and finishing 7th.

Last Start winner, the seven year old KING SAVINSKY tried hard at the Perak Turf Club (Malaysia) on a heavy track, but 4th was his lot

Three Year old BEAU GESTE trialed at Te Teko last Thursday under very heavy track conditions – many  trainers that were there on the day commented that the track was the heaviest they had ever seen. BEAU GESTE, a staying type was having his first trial as a 3yo over 850 metres, didn’t really handle the track and finished back in the field under no pressure – he will trial over more ground next time.

More sobering news for the Fortuna Team during the week was the fact that our very promising 4yo High Chaparral Mare, DAME MARGO FONTEYN, would need to be retired due to a back issue. Stakes placed and the winner of two races as a 3yo “Cilla” had also run with merit, finishing 7th without luck, in the Group One NZ Oaks. The Team had high hopes for her this season, thinking that as a genuine staying type, she could have had Cups potential. With her pedigree however and her race track performance, she will realise a good price for her Syndicate Members as a broodmare prospect.

On  a brighter note, Fortuna 2yo Superstar , MELODY BELLE, has returned to work to prepare for her 3yo season. This news item below from the NZ Racing Desk.

Top filly building toward 3YO season

Melody Belle is back in work with trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards ahead of another Group One campaign.

Last season’s Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and Karaka Million winner enjoyed a good break after her Queensland campaign that netted a victory in the Gr.2 Queensland Sires’ Produce Stakes.

“She had an eight-week spell after returning from Brisbane and has now just finished three weeks pre training on the walker,” Fortuna Syndications director John Galvin said.

“Jamie and Steve will now get her ready for a trial later in the spring and race plans at this stage are to have her resuming over 1200 metres in early December, then into the Sistema Railway at Ellerslie on New Year’s day before tackling the Karaka 3YO Classic at the end of January.”

Talking of MELODY BELLE, Sunday 10th September sees the occasion of the Annual Thoroughbred Awards and the filly is one of three nominees for Two Year Old of The Year Award. Fortuna have booked three tables with 30 attendees, so all are looking forward to having a great evening and hoping that Melody Belle’s name comes out of the envelope.

Trials at Cambridge on Thursday 7th sees the Fortuna 8yo CHANCE TO DANCE have his final trial before his NZ Race day debut. The winner of 7  races in Ireland and Australia, boasting prizemoney earnings of $455,000, a rating of 101 and twice placed over the Two Mile trip, “Ted” as he is known, adds some real depth to the quality of the NZ Staying ranks – the Group One Livamol Classic over 2000 metres on 7th October at Hastings is his first primary target in NZ this season.

Finally, one Fortuna runner this weekend and an exciting one as well- 3yo SHAMROCK makes his 2nd career start in Singapore Sunday 10th in the $75,000 Restricted Maiden event  over 1200 metres. Desperately unlucky on debut when squeezed for a run and finishing 2nd, he is sure to give a sight this weekend.

Tuesday 22nd August saw Trials held at Avondale race course and Fortuna eight year old Gelding, CHANCE TO DANCE, who earlier in his career had won in both Ireland and Australia, was having his first official New Zealand outing. One of the highest rated NZ based handicappers capable of running over ground “Ted” as he is known affectionately to his small army of Syndicate Members (63 in all) is being set for the Group One Livamol Stakes over 2000 metres at Hastings on 7th October. This trial was being touted by his Training Team as a “quiet day out” ahead of a second more serious trial at Cambridge on 12th September. It seemed that no one told Ted about the quiet bit though as he bounced out of the gates like a precocious Two Year Old, contested the lead and running 2nd in the end to the smart up and coming mare, DEALS IN HEELS. Click HERE to see trials replays – we are Heat 3. It was a splendid “quiet day out”. A strong performance by CHANCE TO DANCE  at Hastings could see him travel to Melbourne to contest the Caulfield Cup on 21st October – he has also been nominated for the Melbourne Cup in November.

Just to prove that it is not all beer and skittles in this game however, this past week has seen the retirement of the beautifully bred Fortuna 4yo mare, LEONESSA (Pour Moi – Lioness). Plagued by soundness issues during her race preparations, “Hazel” had only one race day start, for an unlucky 2nd. Possessing undoubted ability, her “issues” finally got the better of her and her future will now lie in the broodmare paddock. A shame for her loyal band of Syndicate Members, however her pedigree does mean she will have nice residual value as a broodmare proposition.

In case you haven’t noticed, the country is in election mode. In the last week of Parliament’s sitting the long awaited “Race Fields Legislation” was given its first reading. This legislation is designed to make the International Corporate Bookmakers pay a levy to the NZ Racing Board for the right to publish the NZ race fields and take bets on them. As you probably know prize money for NZ Racing comes, in the main, from a percentage of betting turnover placed on the TAB. However any bets placed on NZ races with the Corporate bookies attract no such percentage. The Australian Authorities dealt with this in recent years by enforcing their own version of this legislation and the windfall for Australian racing has been huge with Racing Victoria alone collecting close to A$130 million in the last financial year. It has been estimated that the windfall for the NZ codes (Harness and Greyhounds as well as Thoroughbreds) could be $55 Million – to put that in perspective, the NZ TAB currently pays out approx $160 million per annum to the three codes, so it is easy to see why this extra income is so important to the industry. Of course, we could possibly see a change of Government come election day, however Labour did support the first reading of the Bill and have “promised” to enact the legislation if they do occupy the Treasury Benches post election. We shall see.

Te Teko trials scheduled for Tuesday 29th August were put off due to Heavy overnight rain and are now rescheduled for Thursday 31st August. Just one Fortuna runner, the 3yo BEAU GESTE ( Pour Moi – Villa Wanda). 

Three Fortuna runners this weekend with ITS OUR SHOWTIME resuming at Ruakaka Saturday 2nd, while READY FORTUNE and KING SAVINSKY race at the Perak Turf Club (Malaysia).

The Singapore Turf Club made a very significant announcement this week about the exciting future for Singapore racing – Fortuna has been racing in Singapore since 2010 with considerable success – Nine Wins for the Fortuna Singapore Team so far in 2018 and our Singapore Trainer  Mark Walker is currently leading Trainers’ Premiership by a big margin.

Enjoy the good news  from the Singapore Turf Club

The Singapore racing industry is on the cusp of a major paradigm shift as it moves into a bold new direction come the 2018 racing season.

To keep the industry sustainable well into the future, Singapore Turf Club is introducing initiatives which will inject much excitement and drive key changes to the local racing scene.  The cornerstone of the initiatives behind this major overhaul will be centred on quality over quantity, and hinged around three major endeavours:

• Right-size the number of races
• Adjust prizemoney to encourage quality
• Reintroduce international races

Right-size Number of Races

To ensure good field sizes and competitive races, 800 races are mapped out for the 2018 season, down from the current season’s 900.

This optimal number of races was derived after weighing up the median number of runners per race versus a projected horse pool of 1,250 horses.

One significant measure which will be implemented from next season is a one-off increase of five rating points for all horses across the board. This one-off increase in rating points will increase the horse numbers in the higher Classes and lower the numbers in Class 5, thus providing sufficient number of horses to enable more higher classes of races to be programmed.

Horses, however, will not be disadvantaged by the five points increase as they will all still be racing against the same horses, carrying the same weight differentials.

The aim is to achieve bigger field sizes (10 to 12 starters) in higher classes coupled with an increase in the number of Class 3 and 4 races and a reduction of Class 5 races.

Over time, this will encourage the influx of better quality horses as there will be more higher class races being staged.

The one-off increase in ratings of horses will be carried out at the end of the 2017 racing season.

Another significant measure to give the racing programme a ‘racier’ edge is to cap race distances at 2000m as Singapore-based horses are more competitive over shorter distances.

With the capping of race distances to 2000m, significant changes to the distances of the feature races will include reducing the distance of the Singapore Gold Cup from 2200m to 2000m, the Emirates Singapore Derby from 2000m to 1800m, and the Raffles Cup and the Chairman’s Trophy from 1800m to 1600m respectively.

Adjust Prizemoney to Encourage Quality

Prizemoney for Singapore races will be adjusted to favour and encourage quality. At the top end, Group 1 and Group 2 (with the exception of the Aushorse Golden Horseshoe) races will carry minimum prizemoney of $1 million and $500,000 respectively.

The two richest feature races, the $1.35 million Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup and the $1.15 million Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby will remain at that level while the other Group 1 races will be carrying prizemoney of $1 million each. They are the Kranji Mile, Raffles Cup, Singapore Guineas, Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Lion City Cup and Patron’s Bowl while Group 2 races that will be worth $500,000 each are the Merlion Trophy, Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic, EW Barker Trophy, Stewards’ Cup and Chairman’s Trophy.

At the other end of the spectrum, prizemoney for Class 5 races will be adjusted, again to emphasise on quality. Prizemoney for Class 5 races will drop from $35,000 to $20,000. This drop in prizemoney for Class 5 races however would only affect a small number of horses as about half of the horses presently in Class 5 will be eligible to race in the Class 4 Non-Premier races.

Class 4 races will be divided into Premier and Non-Premier divisions with Class 4 Premier races carrying the present prizemoney of $60,000 and Class 4 Non-Premier races (catering to low-rated Class 4 horses) will carry prizemoney of $45,000.

Restricted Maiden and Novice races will see their prizemoney increase from $75,000 to $85,000 to encourage owners to invest more in young quality horses.

The prizemoney changes will take effect from 1 January 2018.

Reintroduce International Races

The Club will reintroduce two international races over the distances of 1200m and 1600m in 2019 and will carry purses of $1.35 million and $3 million respectively.

The two races will be staged on the third Sunday of May, the same time slot occupied by the previous International races, the Singapore Airlines International Cup and KrisFlyer International Sprint. The international races will only be reintroduced in 2019 to allow time for owners to invest in horses that will be competitive in those races.

The Group 1 Kranji Mile race will be brought forward to May and will be held on the same day as the Group 1 Lion City Cup to create an exciting day of racing catering to the top horses in Singapore. The Chairman’s Trophy with a new distance of 1600m will also be brought forward in the first week of May to serve as a lead up race to the Kranji Mile.

Consequently, the races for the Singapore Triple Crown series will be changed with the Raffles Cup (new distance of 1600m) becoming the first leg instead of the Kranji Mile. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800) will become the second Leg while the Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) remains as the final Leg.

Mr Chong Boo Ching, President & Chief Executive, Singapore Turf Club said: “We are delighted to present the new racing initiatives that will commence from the 2018 racing season. We are optimistic that with these new initiatives, we will not only improve the quality of local racing but at the same time, increase international following for Singapore racing.”

Well, what a great sporting week it was last week for the Fortuna and Galvin families.

Sunday 13th August saw the promising, 3yo Fortuna galloper, Shamrock (Helmet-Shamobelle), make his race day debut over 1000 metres Singapore. Racing prominently throughout, he was squeezed for room (probably illegally) at the 500 metres mark and had to be restrained and come off heels, but still ran a very strong race for 2nd – there will me more to come from this boy!!!

Monday 14th August saw the Matamata Racing Club  hold its annual Awards night – this consists of a variety of Awards featuring Matamata based Trainers, Jockeys and Horses. As you would expect Te Akau Racing scooped most of the pool with various Awards, but Fortuna Filly, Melody Belle, collected the Two Year Old of The Year Award, beating off Summer Passage and Gold Fever – Melody Belle had a sensational season by any standards, winning 4 times from 7 race day starts – those wins including the Karaka Million, The Group One Sires Produce Stakes at Awapuni and the Group Two Sires Produce Stakes at Eagle Farm ( Brisbane) and collecting almost $900,000 in prizemoney along the way. The 32 Members of this Syndicate have certainly had a great racing experience.

Then on Thursday, it was school cross country day at Te Totara Primary – James Galvin, aged almost seven, ran a creditable 9th place in his Year Two event and than Jasmine Galvin, aged five, collected the Gold Medal in her Year one event. Jessica and John were bursting with pride as you may imagine.

Friday night in Singapore saw the Fortuna NZ Stable to the fore, with the very progressive 5yo Gelding, HIDDEN PROMISE, record his 3rd Singapore win from just eleven starts

Saturday morning saw John and James Galvin attend James weekly Junior Soccer match – James plays for the Hamilton Wanderers Vipers Team. This Team is unbeaten this season and James, never one to let his younger sister upstage him, scored a goal, made two goal assists and defended stoutly, a performance that saw him collect Player of The Day – his 3rd such Award of the Season so far

Certainly a week to remember.

Behind the scenes that Te Akau Training Team remained hard at work preparing most of the Fortuna Team for upcoming trials over the next few weeks. Of most immediate interest will be Chance to Dance trialing at Avondale on 22nd August – his first official trial in New Zealand – he is being set for the Group One Livamol Stakes at Hastings 7th October.