John Galvin is on an extended nine day trip to Victoria attending Multiple Race Days
John reports “It was always my intention to attend the Warrnambool Carnival again this year after attending last year when Leaderboard won a maiden hurdle event, but since making original plans to take in this carnival, West Indies has been set to contest the St Leger at Flemington on Anzac Day and our Smart two-year-old Filly Titahi Bay, after winning a jump out at Cranbourne in stylish fashion recently, makes her raceday debut on her home track on Friday, the 2nd of May – so those two runners effectively bookended the Warrnambool carnival which runs from Tuesday, the 29th of April to Thursday, the 1st of May.
I traveled to Melbourne on Thursday the 24th and will be attending the Anzac Day Dawn Parade first thing Friday morning before heading to Flemington, where the three year-old West Indies will contest the VRC St Leger and we have 22 members and supporters of that syndicate attending this race day. A race free day on Saturday will give me an opportunity to take in an AFL game live which is a first for me
On Sunday the 27th I travel down to Mornington to meet with Brett Scott who is training two Fortuna runners, the veteran Khafeef, who has recently transferred to Victoria from the Kevin Myers stable and who is on track to have a jumping trial soon and the last start winner Zedwilldo, who will resume racing on the flat very shortly after having had a good spell after breaking Maidens in December
And then on Monday it’s off to Warrnambool which is a 3 1/2 hour train trip from Melbourne, with Leaderboard to contest the Brierly Steeples over 3450m on Tuesday the 29th and then, all going well, he will back up into the Grand Annual Steeples on Thursday, the 1st of May over the more testing 5500 m – he is rock hard fit and and certainly going to give a good account of himself, but of interest, looking at the nominations for Tuesday, while he has beaten most of the other runners in his last two dominant wins, he faces a new opponent on Tuesday, none other than the talented New Zealand jumper Berry The Cash, trained by Mark Oloughlan – this horse has won seven times over the Hurdles in NZ so will provide “Tiger” with some stern opposition on Tuesday but does run in a Steeples for the first time and needs to negotiate the famed Warrnambool hill as well
To add some additional spice to the day, we have another Fortuna runner in Dreamflight, who makes his hurdles debut in the maiden hurdle on the 29th. This is the race that Leaderboard won last year. Dreamflight is new to the jumping game, but has had two jumping trials to prepare for his debut run, is rock hard fit and will get track conditions to suit
Subject to Leaderboard coming through Tuesday’s race in good shape, he will then back up in the famed Grand Annual Steeples which at 5500m is a genuine test of stamina for any runner and certainly will be the longest trip that Leaderboard has ever run
Friday 2nd May sees me return to Melbourne on the train and then out to Cranbourne in the afternoon for a stable visit and then I will be attending the Cranbourne night races where Titahi Bay (Spirit Of Boom – Aotearower) makes her race day debut in the 1000m 2yo Fillies race – the winner of both of her trials in New Zealand and now a dominant winner at her recent Cranbourne jump out, she looks to be a little bit special and it’s certainly a race I’m looking forward to watching her compete in
Saturday 3rd May I return to NZ, hopefully with a trophy or two in my luggage
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Te Akau Racing Announces Key Leadership Appointments:Reece Trumper and Michael Gray
Te Akau Racing is proud to announce two significant appointments that reflect our ongoing commitment to identifying and developing passionate, talented professionals and building a strong future for our industry.
From 1 May 2025, Reece Trumper will step into the role of Assistant Trainer for Te Akau Racing (NZ).Reece is a natural horseman whose deep understanding of thoroughbred racing and breeding, combined with his leadership and enthusiasm, has seen him quickly rise through the ranks since joining Te Akau in 2018. Prior to his appointment as Racing Manager in August 2022, Reece was Assistant Stable Foreman at our Te Akau Colt Barn, where he brought diligence and professionalism to every facet of stable life.
Reece’s journey in racing began in Stratford, and his passion for the industry is deeply rooted – his grandparents, John and Sue Trumper of Cheveley Stud (Te Aroha), stood stallions and bred Group 1 winners including Gee I Jane, Pakaraka Star and Bulginbaah. Personable and highly respected, Reece is a standout young talent, and we are proud to see him continue his career progression with Te Akau.
We are also thrilled to formally appoint Michael Gray as Te Akau Racing Manager (NZ). Michael joins the Te Akau team with an impressive mix of academic and hands-on industry experience. A Palmerston North Boys’ High School old boy, Michael went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce at Victoria University.
His racing experience includes 14 months at John O’Shea’s Randwick stable, where he gained invaluable insights into high-performance operations at the top level of Australian racing. Returning to New Zealand, Michael further expanded his industry knowledge through his role with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), working within the Bureau and Handicapping team.
Since joining Te Akau five months ago, Michael has quickly proven himself to be a valuable and versatile asset to the team. He has thrown himself into every part of the operation – from strapping winners to managing logistics – and his professionalism and work ethic have shone through. He is now looking forward to stepping into this leadership position and continuing to build strong relationships with our owners
John comments – Te Akau Racing, under the astute stewardship of David and Karyn, is renowned for its recruitment and nurturing of young talented up and comers – right from the early days trainers like Roger James and Steve Autridge honed their training skills under the Te Akau banner, Mark Walker approached David Ellis for a job when he was just a teenager (and the rest is history as they say), Jamie Richards was promoted through the ranks very quickly, Sam Bergeson has followed a similar path and now we have these latest announcements.
It has been my pleasure to work closely with Reece Trumper over the last three years in his role as racing manager. This is a very important role within the Te Akau team as the racing manager provides valuable assistance to the head trainers with nominations and acceptances and the very important task of liaising with riders and riders agents. But very importantly, Reece is a “Horseman” and his appointment to the role of assistant trainer is a natural progression in his career and we can only wish him all the very best.
I have only got to know Mikey Gray in the last few months and to date have not had a lot to do with him, but he is typical of the young talent coming through in Te Akau in that he has a sound educational background and that has been coupled with solid experience in a variety of thoroughbred roles, both hands on and in admin and I look forward to working with Mikey in this new role
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Evergreen – a high quality Thoroughbred Breeding Fund
Last week I shared the news with you on this new initiative and pointing out that, because there is a minimum investment of $50,000, we were exploring the option of a Fortuna breeding syndicate to be put together in order to “pool” funds from potential investors with a minimum of $5000 per investor- note that only that upfront sum is required, there are no ongoing costs
During the week we had quite a few enquiries but still not enough to put together a $50,000 package so if you are reading this and wish to express interest just let me know bye return email
It is also worthwhile noting that there are tax benefits available for this sort of investment. The structure that has been set up by Evergreen means that it uses the “pass through” method whereby any tax deductions that are available to investors under the tax code are passed through to the individual investors, who then include the financials in their tax returns. It is important that each investor get their own tax advice on this, but in broad terms up to 100% of the initial investment can be deducted against other income and then at the end of the day, when the fund is terminated, any profits to the individual investor become assessable – see below some broad information on how all of this works
And here below again is the broader information about this new initiative – let me know if you would like to go on the list
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Anzac Day
Today of course is Anzac Day where we celebrate and honour those Servicemen and women, both from the past and currently, who have served in the military forces defending our country and values, with many paying the ultimate sacrifice and this morning I attended the Dawn parade here in Melbourne – I had been to several dawn parades over the years in New Zealand, but this is the first time I have been to one in Australia and it really was an amazing and moving experience with literally thousands of people attending the Service at the “Shrine of Remembrance” in Melbourne. My own family has significant military history, most notably was my own father and his brother volunteering to go to the second world war in 1940 and both were away from their families for six years. I’m sure they were both very happy to come home safe and sound, but six years is long time out of one’s life isn’t it? And I’m sure we have many many of our clients who could tell similar stories about their family histories as well.
And then, as an aside, Anzac Day just happens to be the day that Jessica and I celebrate our wedding anniversary – yes 16 years ago to the day since we tied the knot in the Philippines and this is the first time we have been apart on a wedding anniversary, with me being here in Melbourne and Jessica “holding the fort” at home
John and Jessica – 25th April 2009
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Guest Selector – Des Coppins
Here is what Des has for our readers this week
Greetings John and Fortuna followers
It was nice to see our long range tips do well on Saturday with Sterling Express winning at double figure odds while Acapelego was seen to be be hitting the line solidly into the minors. Both horses are worth staying with. ( the other selection Mossinvader was scratched).
With so many race meetings depleted over the past few months, especially in the CD, with abandonments it’s refreshing to have Awapuni back on Anzac weekend. The industry needs Awapuni badly and if you haven’t caught up with the news the venue will host two of the Spring Triple Crown races in lieu of Hastings which itself is currently being nursed back to good health.
In this busy weekend of racing I’ve decided to focus on one at each meeting, Awapuni, Te Rapa and Riccarton.
Uncle Arch, Awapuni, race five
I had a good look at the replay of its run last time on tricky underfoot conditions at Wanganui and things just didn’t pan out for him when required. I thought with a better run he would have finished in the money and he gets a decent chance to make amends on Anzac Day.
Panther, race 4, Te Rapa
It’s important to keep a close watch on trials and jump outs for any debutants and I was suitably impressed with the way this youngster knuckled down for its most recent trial performance. The stable is running hot and another bold showing is on the cards with this two year old having its first start.
Contemplation Bay, race 9 at Riccarton.
I gave this horse a good plug two weeks ago in this column but the horse was withdrawn on race morning. Stick with him. He’s talented. He is back in class from his last outing and he has strong form against better runners than he meets on Saturday. He’s okay on all footing but any improvement in the track would boost confidence levels.
Good punting for this very special remembrance weekend.
Des Coppins
021 448 052
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