Nine starters for Fortuna this weekend, seven in Singapore and two in New Zealand

Friday at New Plymouth sees OUR DRAHMA QUEEN contest a Maiden 1400 metre event. After a nice third on debut at Taupo in September, this 4yo mare has disappointed us a bit in her next two runs, however she has been good in her lead up work and blinkers go on. Matt Cameron will ride from Barrier 6 .

Saturday at Awapuni, SIR DARCI has his 3rd race in his 5yo campaign. His first two outings saw him strike trouble in the straight each time, although he did run 3rd in his last outing at Hastings. Up in trip to 1400 metres and with blinkers on, he gets his chance in the rating 75 event. Up and coming apprentice rider, Dylan Mo, takes the mount and 3kgs off the horses back, from the wide barrier draw of 10.

Friday night in Singapore sees three runners. First away is DOUBLE JEOPARDY who ran a slashing race last time when fresh up from a break at a distance too short for him. This time he steps up to a more suitable 1600 metres on the Polytrack -Race 4, from the nice barrier draw of 4 and has Champion hoop Manoel Nunes in the saddle. Race 6 sees last start winner KING SAVINSKY up in class ( Class 4) over the 1700 metres on the Poly from a lovely draw at 3 and the veteran Alan Munro takes the mount again. The well performed EATONS GOLD tackles a strong Class 3 event over 1000 metres on the poly in race 8. He has a tricky draw from barrier 9 which will test the mettle of horse and rider Rizuan Shafiq,  but he is in great form and with luck in the running, can be right in this event.

Sunday evening sees two Fortuna runners in the Restricted Maiden event over 1100 metres – Race 2 – on the Polytrack. 3yo BUTCH CASSIDY (by Darci Brahma) makes his raceday debut in this $75k event – somewhat moderate in his trials to date, trainer Mark Walker has elected to apply the blinkers and engaged the services of one of the strongest riders in Singapore, Alan Munro, drawn barrier 4.  In the same event is 3yo Filly LADY IFFRAAJ (by Iffraaj) who has impressed with a smart 2nd and 3rd from her too previous outings in Singapore. Manoel Nunes takes the mount from barrier 3 and she could prove very hard to beat in this event. Race 3 sees one of the Fortuna favourites in Singapore, 6yo READY FORTUNE second up from a break, in a Class 5 1700 metre event. Not the biggest horse in the world at 430kgs ringing wet, he always punches above his weight. Apprentice Zawari who rode him when he last won, takes the mount again from barrier 10 and takes 2kgs off the horses back. Finally in Race 10, the durable OUR RIVER DANCER tackles a Class 5 1600 metre event. Second up from a spell he will be ridden by Rizuan Shafiq from barrier 4.

King Savinsky returning to scale after winning in Singapore 6th November 2015 – Alan Munro in the saddle

FORTUNA NEWSLETTER
11th November 2015

• More Singapore winners

• Ready to Run Sale just around the corner

• New Zealand News.

• Singapore News

• FORTUNA Trainers leading the way Singapore and NZ

  MORE SINGAPORE WINNERS

Since our last newsletter on 24th September, two more horses from the Fortuna NZ Stable have greeted the judge, giving us four individual winners since September 13th. The makers of our new Singapore colours (Speed Silks) are claiming the credit of course, as all four wins have come with the riders wearing the new colours.

4yo Mare SECRET SPICE was rewarded for a string of second placings when winning over 1600 metres on 18th October; her second win in Singapore, she has now won S$94,000. Click HERE to see the replay of this nice effort from her – Manoel Nunes aboard

Not to be outdone, 5yo KING SAVINSKY, who won his first race in Singapore in August and who has been a model of consistency for most of 2015, greeted the judge again on November 6th. Click HERE to see a great effort aided by a lovely ride from Alan Munro. Developing a reputation as somewhat of an iron horse, “The King” has only finished out of the money once in his last fifteen starts. A big strong, powerful type who weighs 560kgs, there is more to come from this boy yet.

King Savinsky storming home 6th November 2015 -Alan Munro aboard.

The Fortuna NZ Stable has now won ten times in Singapore during 2015 and, amazingly, has accumulated 58 other prize money winning placings with its horses. A great credit to Mark Walker and his training team. The financial result of this has been that by the end of November, we would have received over NZ$400,000 of net prize money during 2015 into the Syndicate bank accounts for our Syndicate Members.

READY TO RUN SALE JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th November sees the annual Ready to Run Sale at Karaka and we have already undertaken significant research to secure a nice horse to go and race in Singapore; the “long list” is in place but inspections are about to occur, so very soon, we will be down to a “short list”; watch this space.

NEW ZEALAND NEWS

5yo HIGHLY LIKELY is heading for the Dunstan Feeds Series after three strong staying performances in recent weeks including a win at Te Rapa on October 2nd, where he stunned punters paying $24 to win (Click HERE to see replay) in Rating 65 Grade and then scoring two very close up 2nds in R75 grade. A genuine staying type, the Dunstan series, which could see him race three times between Dec 5th through to the Final on New Years day, should help him enhance his staying credentials. SIR DARCI commenced his 5yo racing season with a start at Te Awamutu where he had no luck in the run home and then a close up 3rd at Hastings where again he finished full of running but in tight quarters in the concluding stages. He will step up to 1400 metres in R75 grade at Awapuni 21st November.

4yo Mare OUR DRAHMA QUEEN has not set the world on fire in her three career starts to the races to date. An impeccably bred mare (Darci Brahma-Queen Cha Cha) she is a half sister to a Group One winning mare in Australia (SUAVITO), however she heads to New Plymouth Friday 20th November, to run again at 1400 metres and will have the blinkers applied.

3yo Filly, WINDBORNE, has seen her South Island campaign come to an end and heads home this week to enjoy a two week paddock spell. Her South Island campaign saw her win fresh up the (Listed) Canterbury Belle Stakes at Riccarton and run 4th in the (Listed) John Grigg Stakes at Ashburton; determining that she was a sprinting type, she was withdrawn from the Group One 1000 Guineas and was entered in the (Listed) Pegasus Stakes over 1000 metre trip down the Riccarton chute November 7th. Unfortunately she knuckled over at the start as they jumped, lost three lengths as a result and did not feature in the finish. She will now be aimed at the 3yo Sprinting events in the New Year. Fellow 3yo Fillies, ITS OUR SHOWTIME and EBONY STAR are both on paddock spells and will return to work soon.

The Singapore bound JACKS SECRET is back in work and will trial in early December while his fellow 3yo HIDDEN PROMISE, also Singapore bound, has commenced a pre training regime at Te Akau Stud. The talented but very unlucky GRAN VIA, who suffered a severe tendon injury in April, is still in rehab with some hope that he may be able to return to racing some day.

Turning to the 2yo’s, LEONESSA (Pour Moi-Lioness) is approaching her first trial as is the Singapore bound “Eric” (Darci Brahma-Obsession). Fellow 2yo “Moses” (Alamosa – Sweet Dreams Baby), now has a racing name, COLORADO PRINCE; he has been gelded recently and will be back in work shortly. The filly “Cilla” (High Chaparral -Dancing Forever) is now back in work following a paddock spell after her first prep; a strong, powerful type, we are looking forward to see how she progresses this preparation. Finally, LADY JASMINE (Darci Brahma-Lady Classique) is shaping as a precocious type and will trial soon

SINGAPORE NEWS

A lot of success for the Fortuna NZ team in recent weeks and hopefully more to come as the 2015 season draws to a close. OUR RIVER DANCER, who enjoyed back to back successes before heading for a break, resumes this coming Friday 13th, let’s hope he can make it an unlucky day for his rivals. The following Friday 20th November sees a Fortuna onslaught with EATONS GOLD, READY FORTUNE, KING SAVINSKY, DOUBLE JEOPARDY and SECRET SPICE all heading to the races. DOUBLE JEOPARDY is the only non winner among this group of horses, but he only went down narrowly last Friday night, so hopefully, he can nail a victory on the 20th. LADY IFFRAAJ who has run a creditable 2nd and 3rd at her only two starts in Singapore to date, races 22nd November while BUTCH CASSIDY will make his race day debut there soon. DURAN who showed a lot of promise, running into the money in his first three starts, has had a setback, suffering a bleeding attack at his fourth start and now must stand down from racing for three months.

FORTUNA TRAINING TEAMS REMAIN DOMINANT.

With just ten race meetings left for the season, Mark Walker enjoys a nine win lead over his nearest rival, Michael Freedman. With 75 winners under his belt, Mark is aiming to hit at least 80 winners for the season. While the contest is never over until it is over, it does look as if Mark will snare his first Singapore premiership to go with his five NZ premierships, and if he does pull it off, it will be well deserved as his work ethic and training skills are second to none.

Here in New Zealand, the new Te Akau training team of Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards are on fire, having surged to the lead in the Premiership with 27 wins currently at a stake rate of 5.13, an outstanding result indeed.

As you know Fortuna entrusts all of its horses to be trained by Te Akau Racing; other syndicators choose to spread their horses around different Trainers, but we have always been comfortable linking in with a Training Establishment that has a proud history of excellence. Still a long way to go for the NZ team with their season not ending until 31st July 2016, but a great start to date.

Fortuna Director, John Galvin

Contact John by email HERE or call/text John 021 921 460

A quiet weekend for Fortuna horses with just OUR RIVER DANCER resuming in Singapore after a freshen up. After back to back wins August/September, Trainer Mark Walker gave him some time off with just a walking/swimming regime for a couple of weeks, then back onto the treadmill and normal trackwork from there. He starts in a Class 5 1200 metre event on the Polytrack, Friday 13th November, Race 1 @ 11.20pm NZT. An apprentice riders race, Mark Walker has elected to put on the 4kg claimer, Hasri. Drawn 11 at the barrier, OUR RIVER DANCER may find the distance too sharp for him, but could go a cheeky race fresh up.

The ever consistent 5yo Gelding, KING SAVINSKY (Savabeel-Lynsisky) showed the benefits of a recent freshen up when mounting a strong finishing run down the long Kranji Turf course straight in taking out the Kranji D Stakes event over 1600 metres in Singapore Friday night. Ridden by the evergreen Alan Munro, KING SAVINSKY was ridden patiently from his wide barrier draw, racing at the back of the field and not  covering an extra inch of ground on the running rail. Just prior to the turn Munro eased him off the rail, then went wider again and then kept him going to the outside, where once he was balanced, put in an irresistible finish to go the line half a length clear of his nearest rival.

KING SAVINSKY has now had 23 starts in Singapore for two wins and fourteen other prize money winning placings with total Singapore earnings now approaching $70,000

Acquired by David Ellis on behalf of Fortuna Ltd at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale, KING SAVINSKY is raced by an ownership group consisting of 30 individuals.

Six runners for Fortuna in New Zealand and Singapore, although one of them, OUR RIVER DANCER, does need a scratching to make the field.

Race 1 in Singapore Friday 6th November @ 11.20pm NZ time sees the unusual situation of three Fortuna runners, READY FORTUNE,  DOUBLE JEOPARDY and OUR RIVER DANCER all contesting the Class 5 1100 metre event on the Polytrack. However, all three horses are resuming from a freshen up and this is an ideal race for them all. Distance is probably too short for all three horses, although if OUR RIVER DANCER does get a start and gets his own way in front, he could give his opponents a fright. Apprentice riders have been engaged for all three runners.

Race 8 @ 3.310am NZT Sat morning, sees KING SAVINSKY contest the Kranji D Stakes event over 1600 metres on the Turf. Up to a more suitable distance after two resuming runs over sprint trips, KING SAVINSKY is right in this race and could prove to be very competitive. Drawn Barrier 10, he has the services of the vastly experienced Alan Munro to ride.

In New Zealand on Saturday, the well performed dual Stakes winning 3yo Filly, WINDBORNE, chances her arm against the older horses for the first time in the Pegasus Stakes over 1000 metres at Riccarton. A Listed event, this race has attracted a good field of older horses and WINDBORNE would need to live up to her high reputation as a speedster in order to gain success. She has drawn nicely at Barrier 2, carries the minimum of 53kgs and has the services of Matt Cameron in the saddle.

Finally on Sunday, SIR DARCI, contests the Rating 75 1200 metre event at Hastings. Very unlucky not to get a clear passage in his resuming run at Waipa recently, the roomier Hastings track should be ideal for SIR DARCI, who has drawn four and has the services of Cameron Lammas to ride.

Here is a Betting/Money Management Strategy for the big one, the Melbourne Cup. With 24 runners and many chances, this is a great race to clean up on multiples if you can get the right numbers on your ticket.  Below here is a strategy that the writer has used for a number of years with quite a few solid successes. For an outlay of $100, it gives you a crack at striking what are usually large Trifecta and First 4 dividends, but even if you only manage to get one of your selections home for a Place bet, will still get you back some of your outlay.  If $100 is a bit rich for you, you can always cut down the size of the bets to suit your budget.

Here it is

First Step
Select Nine Horses from the Twenty Four Starters and label these horses in your order of preference  A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I
Second Step. Place Bets as follows:

Win and Place Bets.
Bet $10 to Win and $10 to Place on each of Horses A and B. Cost of these bets = $40

Quinella Bets.
Select Horse A as an Anchor Selection and Horses B through to I to run 2nd. Select Horse B as an Anchor and Horses A though to I to run second.  Bet $1 Units. Cost of these bets = $16.

Trifecta Bet.
Select horses ABC to run 1st, ABCDE to run 2nd and ABCDEFG to run 3rd. Total Units=60, Take a 25% Percentage bet.  Cost of bet @ 25% = $15

First Four Bet. 
Select ABC to run 1st, ABCDE to run 2nd, ABCDEFG to run 3rd and ABCDEFGHI to run fourth.  Total Units=360. Take an 8% percentage bet.  Cost of Bet @ 8% = $29.

Total Cost of Bets = $100

And to help you further, Click HERE for the race field and Form Guide courtesy of the Herald Sun newspaper

This writer fancies GUST OF WIND, WHO SHOT THE BARMAN, TRIP TO PARIS, FAME GAME, RED CADEAUX

Any queries, just email John Galvin HERE

Friday night in Singapore sees five time Singapore winner, EATONS GOLD contest a Class 3 1100 metre event on the Polytrack. While yet to win at Class 3 Level, EATON has always been competitive and from  the nice barrier draw of five, top apprentice Shafiq Rusof aboard and just 52 kgs to carry, he is bound the be in the mix as they cross the line. 3yo Filly, LADY IFFRAAJ gets a chance to improve on her impressive 2nd placing on debut, when she contests the Initiation 1000 metre event on the Polytrack. Unfortunately, she has drawn the outside barrier, so will need plenty of luck to go her way. She carries just 50.5kgs and rider Tim Bell, a recent arrival in Singapore, has already made him mark as a rider of some quality.

In New Zealand on Saturday, 5yo stayer HIGHLY LIKELY journeys to Awapuni to contest the Rating 75 2300 metre event. A gutsy performance saw him win at Te Rapa two starts back and he followed that up with another strong performance in this grade at Matamata, just going down in the last stride. Danielle Johnson takes the ride from barrier 5 in what is a good quality stayers event.

Finally, in Singapore on Sunday 4yo DURAN, who has run three 3rd placings from his three starts to date in Singapore, tackles an Initiation event over 1200 metres on the Polytrack, Drawn out a bit at 10, he will be ridden quietly by Shafiq Rusof, but is a definite top four chance in what he has shown to date in Singapore.

What a weekend for Te Akau Racing Stables New Zealand with the Autridge/Richards Team scoring five wins on Saturday, four at Riccarton and one at Trentham. The Riccarton results featured a strong win by 3yo Filly RISQUE ( By Darci Brahma) in the Listed Armadillo Stakes over 1600 metres an d she has now thrust herself right into contention for the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton.on 14th November, Equally dominant at Trentham was 3yo Colt EXTRAVAGANT  (by Pentire) who won the Guineas Trial in a canter and is now also right in the mix for the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton 7th November. The five win haul propelled the Training Team to first on the Trainers Premiership table with 24 wins. In Singapore of course, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker also leads that premiership table so the Teams are firing all round.

First away on Friday 23rd October is SIR DARCI, who has his first start as a 5yo in the Rating 75 1200 metre event at Waipa. This four win Gelding had a strong 3yo year, but a number of health issues curtailed his performances as a 4yo. However, a recent strong trials performance at Te Teko, where he won by two lengths, gives some indication that he may be over his issues and ready for a strong season. Matt Cameron to ride in Race 7 at 4.05 pm.

Friday evening in Singapore, the well performed five time winner, EATONS GOLD, runs from barrier 4 in a Benchmark 67 1200 metre event on the Poly track. To be ridden by leading Apprentice, Shafiq Rusof, who is riding in white hot form, EATON is bound to be his usual competitive self in this event. Race time 3.20am Saturday morning NZ Time.

Singapore on Sunday sees the consistent performer, KING SAVINSKY, start in a Class 4 1200 metre event on the Turf track. A staying type, this trip is well short of his best distance, however he flew home over 1100 metres when resuming 1o days ago and he may give a sight in this event, particularly given that with the 4kg claimer, CK Ng, aboard, he will only carry 46.5kgs. Race 3 at 7.10pm NZ Time.

Finally at Woodville on Monday, 4yo mare OUR DRAHMA QUEEN has her third race day start. After disappointing when favourite on debut at Matamata, she atoned with a strong 3rd placing over 1200 metres at Taupo recently and the 1400 metre trip will be right up the alley of this half sister to the Australian Group One performer,  Suavito. Cameron Lammas to ride.

A run of four second placings in a row and then a a very unlucky 7th last start placing came to an end in Singapore Sunday 18th October when 4yo Mare SECRET SPICE won her Class 5 event over 1600 metres on the Turf by two and a half lengths, her 2nd win in Singapore.  Ridden by Singapore Champion Jockey, Manoel Nunes, SECRET SPICE had drawn wide which presented some challenges given that the running rail was right out, however Nunes settled his mount slightly worse than mid field, worked her closer prior to the turn and then on straightening the mare maintained a strong irresistible run to the line. Click HERE to see the race replay.

Fortuna Director John Galvin was very happy with the outcome; ” Secret Spice is proving a lovely horse in  Singapore; she is still maturing as a racehorse, but is as honest as the day is long and has now won close to S$100,000 for her owners from eighteen race day starts,” he said.

SECRET SPICE is by Sahkees Secret out of the very good race mare Caparison and is raced by the Fortuna Secret Spice Syndicate , an ownership group comprising 26 individuals and was acquired by David Ellis on behalf of Fortuna at the 2013 Karaka Yearling Sales for the sum of $47,500.