Fortuna has two runners Friday- one in NZ, one in Victoria
Ashburton – Friday
MAROKOPA FALLS contests the 3yo 1200m event – Race 4 at 1.37 pm with Bruno Queiroz to ride from Barrier 5 – she has not had a lot of luck of late, striking a heavy track at Wingatui on Boxing Day and then traveling all the way to Gore only to strike a race day abandonment – is primed for this and has an excellent chance of saluting the judge. – TAB says “Strong contender on best form”- Showing Odds of $6/$1.95
Cranbourne – Friday
TITAHI BAY resumes in the Benchmark 64 1000m – Race 5 @ 10.15pm NZT – Craig Williams rides from barrier 5 – strong Maiden winner 1st Nov – has been freshened and won a jumpout at Cranbourne 9th Feb – speedy Filly, meets a good field here, but with luck in running can certainly feature – TAB is enigmatic and says “See this one” – Showing $9/$2.30
COURT OF APPEAL presides at Riccarton – Dunedin Gold Cup now in her sights
What incredible “value” this girl is turning out to be – picked out of Karaka Book 2 for us by David Ellis and acquired for just $20k – we have been very patient with her and that patience is paying off in spades – see our website story below
Fortuna Racemare COURT OF APPEAL makes it five career wins – Riccarton 18th February 2026
A good staying mare, Court Of Appeal (5 m Eminent – Katy O’Beel, by Zabeel) wrapped the day for Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson with a strong winning performance in the $25,000 Corin & Bobbity Murfitt Rating 75 2000 metres on 18 February at Riccarton. It bookended the day for the Te Akau trainers, after winning the first race on the programme with Aishiteru (Satono Aladdin).Impressive when winning the Open Handicap 2200 metres on 11 October at Ashburton, set Court Of Appeal on a path to contesting both the Metropolitan Handicap (Listed, 2600m) and New Zealand Cup (Gr. 3, 3200m) during Cup Week in November, and although fighting hard for sixth in the Metropolitan, she found the Cup a bridge to far on what developed into testing Heavy9 conditions. Given a freshen-up by the trainers, she made ground down the outside from last when resuming on Heavy8 in the Rating 75 1600 metres on 24 January at Riccarton, and her previous four wins to 2200 metres assured she was strongly supported.Combining again for her third win with Brazilian jockey Bruno Queiroz, Court Of Appeal was urged from the gates to secure a handy position on the rail, lifted into contention at the 300m, and drew away from pacemaker Peecee Pussycat (Pure Champion) over the concluding stages. On footing that remained Heavy8 throughout the day, Court Of Appeal ran 2000 metres in 2:06.4, last 600m in 37.0 (approx.) and tumbled late in betting to pay $2.60 & $1.30 on the NZ TAB tote.
“It was a terrific win by Court Of Appeal and caps off a golden run in the stable for the Fortuna Racing team, managed by John and Jessica Galvin,” Walker said. “Bruno (Queiroz) gets on really well with the mare. She’s taken time and the owners have been very patient, but being by Eminent, out of a Zabeel mare, she was always going to be slower to mature and we’re starting to see the rewards coming through now. “It was unfortunate when she contested the New Zealand Cup on the day that the weather bomb came through Christchurch, but she’s shaping up to be a really nice staying mare and we expect her to improve again next season.”
Walker said that Court Of Appeal will prepare for the $180,000 Positive Signs + Print Dunedin Gold Cup (Listed, 2400m) on Saturday 28 February at Wingatui.
Court Of Appeal – 5th career victory – Riccarton 18th February 2026 Bruno Queiroz aboard
Purchased for $20,000 by David Ellis CNZM and Fortuna Racing from the Karaka 2022 Book 2 Sale, from the draft of Brighthill Farm, she is owned by Fortuna Court Of Appeal Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin) an Ownership Group of 46 individuals
“It was a good result today, after we were a bit apprehensive yesterday with all the rain, but Mark (Walker) and I had a good chat last night and all things considered we elected to start,” John Galvin said. “With the Dunedin Gold Cup in mind, she needed to run today, and while I don’t think she was overly comfortable in the ground, her class was good enough to get her home. She had run home stoutly to finish only three and a half lengths away over a mile, in her fresh-up run, and it was just the question mark over the track conditions. That’s her third win this season which has helped the Fortuna Racing strike rate to 4.1, with 10 wins from 41 races in New Zealand and Australia,”added Galvin, whose star filly Lara Antipova (Russian Revolution) remained unbeaten in three starts when winning the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr. 2, 1200m) last Saturday, while also providing Te Akau with their 11th win in the race.
Court Of Appeal is by Brighthill Farm stallion Eminent, a Group Two winner and dual Group One placed son of peerless racehorse and sire Frankel (Galileo) – currently leading the TRC Global Sires Rankings – trained by Sir Mark Todd and owned by Sir Peter Vela.
From the first crop by Eminent, Court Of Appeal is out of a mare that won three times to 2200 metres, in turn from sensational staying mare Katy Keen (Zorro’s Lad), a Group Two and Group Three winner that won 10 times to 2500 metres. Court Of Appeal is the second winner from Katy O’Beel, following Enright (Power), a four-time winner to 2100 metres.
Court Of Appeal was strapped by Amelia Southworth.
============================================================ Trans Tasman Double Target for Fortuna 2yo Fillies achieved
It’s tough for a boutique syndicator like Fortuna Racing to get two winners in a day, particularly on both sides of the Tasman and particularly with both being two year-old Fillies – however 40 minutes after Lara Antipova’s dominant win at Matamata, Tolaga Bay, on debut, delivered a strong winning performance at Ballarat
Interestingly enough, they will both race on the same day again, March 7th, Lara in the Group One Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie with Mick Dee to ride and Tolaga Bay in the Group Two Sires Produce at Flemington with Craig Williams aboard – mouth watering stuff
LARA ANTIPOVA
TOLAGA BAY
For many years now the Matamata Racing Club has had a tradition of painting a birdcage located statue of a jockey, in the winning Silks of the winner of the Breeders Stakes – Te Akau syndicated Fillies had won in the previous two years, so no change had been necessary, however this year, the painter had to get busy – see picture below – and the statue remains that way for the next twelve months – this is the first time that a Fortuna Filly has won the race (from 3 attempts) so excuse us for feeling a bit proud!!
And talking of pride, our good friends at Te Akau Racing can certainly feel a lot of that emotion given that Lara’s win in this race was the 11th time that a Te Akau trained horse has won the race – yes, what a remarkable record, which started in 1995 when Stephen Autridge was the Te Akau trainer and he managed to win the event three times – in 2008 and 2009 it was Mark Walker’s turn and then in 2017 Steven Autridge was back again, this time as the co-trainer with Jamie Richards – Jamie won again as a sole trainer in 2022, Mark Walker as the sole trainer in 2023 and for the last three years in a row, Mark and Sam. Definitely a tribute to David and Karyn for the outstanding business model they have developed and enhanced over a long period of time ============================================================
Three winners in five days brings Fortuna Strike Rate for the season down to 4.1
Yes, despite not having a winner for the first six weeks of the calendar year, they have come thick and fast of late with three winners in five days, giving us 10 wins from 41 starts on both sides of the Tasman since the start of the season on first of August. Its certainly not easy to deliver winners on a regular basis but our focus on doing our best to select really nice types from the outset remains a key determinant for us, along with a focus of “buying to budget” – all with the aim of delivering as much value as we can to the most important people in this equation, our highly valued clients
As seen above we are “on a roll” and have three lovely offering to choose from – time to “get aboard”
Legend Of Kings
LEGEND OF KINGS is a 5yo son of the Epsom Derby winning Camelot whom we acquired as a one win “tried horse” from the Inglis Digital platform last December. Arriving in NZ from Australia mid December, he has absolutely thrived, putting on 25 kgs and loving his new environment. He trialed at Avondale 17th Feb without blinkers and will now trial again at Taupo over a longer distance, this time with blinkers and, safely through that, he will make his NZ debut over 2000m in R65 Grade – Still a few shares left in this lovely Staying type that we are aiming toward the NZ Cup in November – Click HERE to read all of his details and shares can be purchased off this link
LEGEND OF KINGS 10% Share is NZ$7.5k
5% Share is NZ$3.75k
2.5% share is NZ$1.875k
1% share is NZ$750
Monthly ongoing costs from 1 March 2026 are NZ$50 per month per each 1% share ============================================================
The Circus Maximus Yearling Colt acquired from Karaka Book One
We love our stayers – This one is lovely strong staying type, acquired for not a lot of money – “Max” is now spelling at Te Akau Stud – he will head off to be broken in early March
Read all of his details and place orders at the link HERE or contact us for more information.
The Yearling Colt by CIRCUS MAXIMUS out of ASAMA BLUE
10% Share is NZ$11k
5% Share is NZ$5.5k
2.5% share is NZ$2.75k
1% share is NZ$1.1k
Monthly ongoing costs from 1 April 2026 are NZ$50 per month per each 1% share============================================================
Magic Millions Purchase – the Pierro Yearling Filly proving very popular
This girl has all the attributes to follow in the footsteps of Lara Antipova – Aus bred, bought from the same sales house and looks to be an early runner – Now spelling at Te Akau Stud – she will head off to be broken in early March – Click HERE to see footage of her in the paddock 19th Feb – comments from Reece Trumper – she is an outstanding physical type
The Yearling Filly by PIERRO out of ANGEL HELENA
10% Share is NZ$18k
5% Share is NZ$9k
2.5% share is NZ$4.5k
1% share is NZ$1.8k
Monthly ongoing costs from 1 April 2026 are NZ$50 per month per each 1% share
All information including the Disclosure Statement and Syndicate Agreement can be viewed on the Fortuna website HERE and orders can be made directly from this link – call/text John 021 921 460 if you seek additional information
What an outstanding day for your team on Saturday on both sides of the Tasman with Lara Antipova maintaining her unbeaten record in the time honoured Matamata Breeders Stakes and the new comer Tolaga Bay superb on debut in Ballarat. I watched the replay of Tolaga Bay and I was impressed with her professionalism and the way she stretched out. She’s clearly got what it takes to win her share.
I very much doubt the stable will elect to run Lara Antipova in such heavy track conditions very often. She mastered the ground on class alone. She was simply too good for her rivals and who knows what she would have done to the opposition on a better track. Again, she’s so professional the way she races.
We saw that when she won the Wakefield at Trentham and you’d have to think the group one $550k Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie is hers for the taking. The bookies think so, too. The race is still a fortnight away and they’ve posted the microscopic odds at $1.50.
I felt sorry for the Matamata club. It was there biggest day and it’s not ideal to have 33 scratchings. Small fields and heavy tracks in February is something we are not used to and while most of us aren’t privvy to the overall betting figures I’d say the club and Entain were well off budget.
Lara Antipova aside, most interest on Saturday centred on the return of in Sydney and Tentyris at Flemington and they didn’t disappoint. In fact they were simply outstanding. They both feature in my “Question Time” feature for this week.
TEN QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Q1: Congratulations to Hamish Kerr in winning the Halberg Award as top sportsmen earlier this week. He’s a current world champion high jumper. The competition at the Halbergs includes other high class athletes in the Sportsman of the Year category like Geordie Beamish (3000m) and Luca Harrington.( freestyle skier).
Of course there’s another world champion James McDonald who didn’t make the cut. Not even a contender! A bit sad really don’t you think?
Whoever the judges are they just don’t get it do they?
Q2: I can’t recall seeing a better last to first win in the group one Black Caviar as we did last Saturday at Flemington with Tentyris since the last to first sprint specialist, Chautauqua who won the corresponding race 10 years ago. Do you remember how good this grey flash really was? He had a habit of dawdling out of the gates and somehow overpowering them in mind blowing fashion. Tentyris was amazing and the turn of foot from being last at the 400m was a moment of brilliance seldom seen.
The eyes of the world will be watching what he does next. He is sure to be an Everest contender and maybe the challenger the world’s best Ka Ying Rising is hoping for.
Q3: The Levin racing venue, which has been fighting for survival for seemingly decades, proved its still an important training and jump out venue don’t you think as evidenced by two major winners at Matamata last Saturday in Enrico and Titled who are both residents of Levin.
Q4: Staying with Levin I was very pleased to see small time trainer these days Geoff Haigh finally get a an overdue win with Riomosa last week at Otaki. Did you know it’s been almost a 4-year wait for the Levin trainer?
Back in his early years Geoff had two outstanding fillies in Candide and Serastrina who clashed in the 1986-87 three year old season against the best both here and in Australia? Canidide was the best in her year with the group one NZ 1000 Guineas, the NZ Oaks, registered a 3rd in the Australian Oaks and a 4th in the AJC Derby. She trained on, too, with placings in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington, the Caulfield Cup, the Caulfield Stakes and even ran in Empire Rose’s Melbourne Cup although unplaced.
Q5: Chris Waller is no stranger in getting trifectas in black type races – he did it again on Saturday in the group 2 at Randwick – but I reckon he had one of the more unique trebles on Saturday which had to be some sort of record.
After The Autumn Glow won in Sydney, Noble Conqueror won at Brisbane and Sixties followed in Melbourne.
Three wins on the 3 big Saturday metropolitan tracks in less than 15 minutes! That’s pretty special wouldn’t you say?
Q6: If our rising star Well Written dominates in the Kiwi on Champions Day on March 8 could the clash with whoever is the best 4yo in the spring become the most mouth watering match up we’ve seen around a NZ v Australian since maybe Sunline v Lonhro in the 2002 Caulfield Stakes?
Q7: What does this tell us from current riding suspensions? Currently there are 15 riders under suspension, 3 are from the South Island while 12 are North Islanders? Read into that what you will.
Q8: It’s an unbeaten 9 win record for The Autumn Glow and the ease of her win last Saturday suggests it’ll take something very special for any to lower her colours in the immediate future don’t you reckon?
Q9. J-Mac puts The Autumn Glow alongside Romantic Warrior as the two horses who “give him a feel” like no others. Here’s a fun fact I put to J-Mac when I drove him from Trentham to the Wellington airport post Telegraph day. If Cox Plate heroes Romantic Warrior and Via Sistena stepped out at their utmost fitness how close would they be to each other at the end of a race like the Cox Plate?
He replied without hesitation: “Via Sistena would be 4 lengths in arrears!”
Interesting, eh?
Q10: It’s Avondale Cup Day but not at Avondale; NZ Oaks Day but not at Trentham and it’s Otaki Classic Day but not at Otaki. While wishing all the main players targeting one or all three of these iconic races matched for the first time together at Ellerslie this Saturday under the new watch of the Auckland Racing Club, it will take a bit of getting used to won’t it?
THE MUD TRIPPED THEM – DON’T DROP THEM!
KINNAIRD: he over raced and never relaxed in the running. If they keep him in work maybe they’ll freshen him for the group one Sires Produce Stakes. If he goes to the spelling paddock he will return and be a group one Guineas contender.
HAWEA: slow away and rushed outside Lara Antipova before the turn and plugged to the line. She proved difficult to load and she has a bit to learn but she has a bright future when maturity kicks in.
BASEL WARRIOR:
His two wins prior to the Matamata flop are proof that he’s above average. He was all over the place in his action and he will also bounce back on a better surface.
Good punting!
I mentioned last week that my 36th Melbourne Tour has all been finalised and my Co tour leader Lisa Allpress is again looking forward to accompanying the estimated 70-80 people to the spring carnival again along with myself and the Sporting Tours team.
Have a look at the brochure HERE If it’s on your bucket list to mix and mingle with always a great bunch of like minded people in our well organised tour this year we’d love to hear from you.
