Fortuna Weekly Round Up 10th October

Race Day Abandonment at Hastings denies CHANCE TO DANCE his Group One clash in the Livamol Classic

Bizarre circumstances at Hastings racetrack last Saturday with steady light rain falling during the morning after what had been a few fine days in the region, led to the race day Stewards making the call to abandon the Premier day meeting after race five due to unsafe track conditions.

This denied the much awaited clash between stable mates CHANCE TO DANCE and GINGERNUTS  in the $250,000 Group One Livamol Classic

“We are not having much luck with this horse (Chance to Dance) in these big events,” commented Fortuna Director, John Galvin,“at his first run for us back in April, he ran 2nd in the Sydney Cup, only to have the race abandoned due to a fall and today, set to run in another Group One race, he suffers the outcome of a meeting abandonment. I feel really sorry for his big group of supporters, 35 or so I estimate, who made the effort to track to Hastings for the event.”

However, the good news is that the event is to be rescheduled to Sunday 22nd of October at the same venue – this announcement was made yesterday by NZ Thoroughbred Racing and the Hawkes Bay Racing Club. The Otaki Maori Racing Club were also involved as their meeting that was scheduled that day has effectively been moved to Hastings.

Wet track conditions continue to hamper thoroughbred Spring preparations.

Persistent rain throughout August and September has led to very sodden track conditions on the major training tracks in the Waikato region, including Matamata and Cambridge, creating significant difficulties for Trainers and their staff in their quest to get their charges ready for Spring racing. “I know that Stephen (Autridge) and Jamie (Richards) have been tearing their hair out as a result of these persistent rainy conditions,” reports John Galvin, “and it is very challenging for the staff to wake up morning after morning at 3.30 am to start work at 4am, only to face another morning of getting soaked to the skin and try and get the best out of the horses under adverse track conditions.”

The Te Akau trainers have a few tricks up their sleeve however, making regular trips with a team of horses down to the Taupo track for pre race day gallops. The Taupo track, being on a pumice based surface, provides much better footing than does Matamata under these sorts of weather conditions.

Trials have also been problematical with a number of cancelations and and postponements. Today (Tuesday 10th) the Te Akau Training Team have taken nine Two Year Olds all the way to Ruakaka for its trial day in order to take advantage of the better footing offered by the sand based track there. This team includes the Fortuna 2yo gelding, HANDSOME REBEL (Denman-London Rebel).

Te Akau Racing Stables takes possession of a Mechanical Walker

Constantly seeking an “edge” in their quest for perfection led David Ellis and his Training Team to make a decision to acquire a Mechanical Walker for their charges. The Te Akau Singapore based Trainer, Mark Walker, has been using a similar device for over twelve months now and could not be happier with its effectiveness. The machine can have its incline altered and can have its speed adjusted right up to a steady canter. After having had the walker for about four weeks now, Stephen Autridge is a big fan, “It just creates so  many options of different horses,” he says, “firstly it means that under the sort of adverse weather conditions we have had of late, you can get some solid work into horses without getting horse and rider wet and struggling with heavy tracks. Secondly, if you have a horse returning from injury, the walker provides a nice bridge between hand walking and returning to normal trackwork. I just love it.”

Fortuna Horses racing this week

Just one runner this week, with JACKS SECRET racing over 1100 metres on Singapore Turf Club’s Polytrack this Friday 13th October. “Jack” put in a very bold resuming run over 1000 metres two weeks ago, finishing 2nd by a head, has trained on well and should be ready for another bold run this Friday.