Resuming off 70 days proved no obstacle for Beau Geste (4 g Pour Moi – Villa Wanda, by Grand Lodge), with a dominant victory in the $10,000 Farmer Transport Rating 65 1650 metres on 18 July at Hastings.

A three-quarter brother to multiple Group One winning Wall Street (Montjeu), who had a great affinity on the course at Hastings, Beau Geste had broken through for a well deserved Maiden win over 2000 metres in March at New Plymouth, and given a chance to freshen-up by Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards worked the oracle.

Unpressured from the gates by rider Craig Grylls, Beau Geste settled comfortably three back on the inner and things unfolded nicely with a split one off the rail at the 300m. Up for the contest, he quickened through stylishly inside the 200m and pulled away under a hand ride to score by a neat length.

On Slow8 footing, Beau Geste started as a loose third favourite and his best return on the NZ TAB was $10.00 & $2.90 fixed odds.

Click HERE to see Race result and Video replay

Beau Geste wins stylishly at Hastings 18th July 2019 – Craig Grylls aboard

“I got a really big thrill out Beau Geste winning today,” Richards said. “He’s a bread and butter sort of horse that had been over-racing with the blinkers on and had a couple of soundness problems in behind, but thankfully John Galvin allowed us to take our time with the horse. We’d sent him out to the beach at Waiuku to Catherine Cleghorn, who is a really important part of our team, and she was able to take him along quietly and give him a freshen-up.

“He returned to Matamata in very good order and he’d worked up pleasingly on the course proper. Gryllsy gave him a ten out of ten ride and it’s been a massive effort by everyone involved.

“He’s also a pretty handy jumper, but we just use that as part of his training regime at this stage of his career.”

Te Akau principal David Ellis purchased Beau Geste for $32,500 from the draft of Valachi Downs at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale, and fashioning a solid record of two wins, two seconds, and a third, for the Fortuna Beau Geste Syndicate (Mgr: John Galvin).

“I knew Wall Street well and bought this horse from Valachi,” Ellis said. “It’s terrific to see him win a couple because he wasn’t far away in his first campaign and just needed a bit of physical maturity in order to start winning.”

On course to celebrate the victory, Galvin said the win was not overly unexpected. “It is school holidays and I decided to bring my two older children (James aged  8 and Jasmine, 9) away for a couple of days, so I’ve got the support crew with me and glad I was here,” he said.

“The win wasn’t too surprising as I was reasonably confident that provided we could get the horse to relax then he would put in a good effort. Whether or not he would win, I wasn’t one-hundred sure but Jamie Richards and I had worked out it was obvious he’d over-raced in his last two runs.

“So we took the blinkers off and the instructions to Craig (Grylls) were to focus on relaxing the horse and it didn’t matter where he finished up in the run – just get him to relax and run home strong were the instructions.  He got a perfect run, didn’t cover an inch of extra ground, found a split as they turned and because he hadn’t been used up he was able to run home strongly.

“He’s been a slow maturing type and never going to be a world-beater, but he’s got all the makings of a stayer and if we can continue on this path then the further he goes the better he will be. It’s just a matter of placing him and making sure he races properly. He’s dour and hasn’t got a sprint, so he needs to be able to roll into the race, which is exactly what he did today.”

Reflecting on the Fortuna season with Te Akau, Galvin said: “The win brought our strike rate down to 3.31 for the season and we’ve got one more runner on Saturday at Te Rapa, Grand Ariana, and she will probably be our last. We’ve had a fantastic year.”

Beau Geste is raced by the Fortuna Beau Geste Syndicate, an ownership Group comprising 27 individuals

Beau Geste was strapped by Alexis White

Fortuna Syndication’s Three Year Old Gelding, FEDERATION (Written Tycoon-Bloomingdale Miss) was dominant in the Class 4 S$50,000 event at Singapore’s Kranji race course 9th June 2019 to record back to back wins and his 3rd career win.

FEDERATION was having his 6th race day start and now has the very good record of three wins, a 2nd and two fourths and over S$$130,000 of prize money. FEDERATION had been inclined to race very keenly in his earlier Singapore runs, however the removal of the blinkers by Trainer Mark Walker on the occasion of his previous victory had seen him relax nicely in the run. Away from the barriers well today, rider John Powell got him to relax nicely again and he raced in a mid field position – coming into the race  before they turned for home, he seemed to be along way from the leaders coming down the straight, but Johnny Powell got to work on him and with a relentless finishing run, he gathered in and put paid to the opposition, winning the race by one and a half lengths with his stable mate, Atlantic Fox in 2nd place.

Click HERE to see the Race Video Replay

“Federation” – 3rd win at Kranji – 09 June 2019

FEDERATION was secured by Fortuna Director, John Galvin, at the Inglis Digital on line sale (May 2018) for A$90,000 from Vendors, The China Horse Club, following a recommendation by Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker who heads up the powerful Te Akau Racing Team. “Mark had identified this horse, who had had four placings from four starts in New South Wales as a Two Year Old, as an ideal type for Singapore racing, He had a lovely pedigree, was big and strong and had performed well as a 2yo,” reports John  Galvin. “Now  Three  wins from Six starts and over S$130,000 in prizemoney, he is starting to make his mark in Singapore.”

Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker,  a five time Premiership winning Trainer in NZ, a two time winning Trainer in Singapore  currently leads the Singapore Premiership in 2019 with 41 wins in the season to date.

FEDERATION is raced by the Fortuna Federation Syndicate, an ownership group of 38 Individuals – the syndicate Membership has an International flavour to it, with members from NZ, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. 14 of those individuals experienced their first ever win with a Fortuna Syndicate when Federation won on New Year’s Day and are now enjoying a wonderful ride with FEDERATION

Fortuna Syndication’s Three Year Old Gelding, FEDERATION (Written Tycoon-Bloomingdale Miss) built to a strong win in the S$75,000 Novice event at Singapore’s Kranji race course 12th May 2019 to record his 2nd career win.

FEDERATION was having his 5th race day start and had fashioned a good record with a 2nd placing, a win and two fourths in his previous four starts. Trainer Mark Walker had removed the blinkers for this run after FEDERATION had gone a bit keen at his previous run and riding instructions to the highly experienced John Powell, were to slot him in with cover during the run. Powell, who picked up the ride after regular rider, Vlad Duric, was indisposed with illness, did a superb job. FEDERATION, as is his want, was keen to get on with the job, but Powell restrained him, slotted in behind the leaders and the horse relaxed beautifully. Turning for home, Powell set FEDERATION alight, he soon gathered in the leaders and withstood the challengers to go to the line clear by a length. Interestingly, John Powell had ridden Mark Walker’s and Fortuna’s first ever winner in Singapore (Rio Fortune) back in 2010

Click HERE to see the Race Video Replay

“Federation” – 2nd Career Win – Kranji – 12th May 2019

FEDERATION was secured by Fortuna Director, John Galvin, at the Inglis Digital on line sale (May 2018) for A$90,000 from Vendors, The China Horse Club, following a recommendation by Fortuna Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker who heads up the powerful Te Akau Racing Team. “Mark had identified this horse, who had had four placings from four starts in New South Wales as a Two Year Old, as an ideal type for Singapore racing, He had a lovely pedigree, was big and strong and had performed well as a 2yo,” reports John  Galvin. “Now Two wins from Five starts and still maturing physically, we think he has a bright future in Singapore.”

Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker,  a five time Premiership winning Trainer in NZ, a two time winning Trainer in Singapore and who currently leads the Singapore Premiership in 2019 with 31 wins, expressed a lot of satisfaction with the win. Mark comments, “After reviewing his last start where he weakened  in the dying stages of the race to finish 4th, I realised I had made a bit of a blue in applying the blinkers to the horse, so we took them off this time and decided to ride him in behind the speed and it worked a treat. Great to get another win for the Fortuna NZ team here in Singapore, John Galvin and I go back a long time and we have had many great wins between us over the years, both in NZ and Singapore.”

FEDERATION is raced by the Fortuna Federation Syndicate, an ownership group of 38 Individuals – the syndicate Membership has an International flavour to it, with members from NZ, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. 14 of those individuals experienced their first ever win with a Fortuna Syndicate when Federation won on New Year’s Day and now taste victory again,

Making it three wins from five starts, Burgundy Belle(3 f Burgundy – Spin ‘N Grin) provided Fortuna’s NZ  trainer Jamie Richards of Te Akau Racing Stables with his 92^nd win this season when bolting in on Sunday at Trentham.

In the $25,000 Crown Prosecutor Cup, for three-year-olds over 1400 metres, handling the heavy footing was always going to be paramount and having won her debut on Slow9 by 5.5 lengths gave punters a significant leg-up on her prospects. Burgundy Belle  duly delivered, given a lovely run in the race by Jonathan Parkes, sitting just off the leader, Satu Lagi, and after turning for home, she gathered him in very quickly and went to the line a clear winner by 3.3 lengths.

Click HERE to see race result and Video replay

Rider Johnathan Parkes said: “I actually didn’t want to be as handy as what I was, but we were posted a bit wide early and she wanted to get on with the job, so I let her roll forward and she was simply too good. She’s a progressive filly and will carry on with the job.”

BURGUNDY BELLE strides to a 3 length Victory – Trentham 5th May 2019

Impressive winning on debut and again in the next grade at her following start, both in December, before spelling after a notable fifth in the Mongolian Khan Trophy (Gr. 3, 1200m) on Karaka Million Night (26 Jan.) at Ellerslie, Burgundy Belle had resumed with a very good third in the 3YO 1200 metres on 14 April at Te Rapa.

“She was going to the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (a week earlier), but we had a wide draw and some jockey troubles so we decided to pull out of that and have a go at this race,” said Fortuna Syndications Director John Galvin. “I was out walking the track before the race and although it’s testing, it’s not super wet, but she handles any tracks, I think, so we’re very pleased  with just how this very handsome filly is progressing.”

Jamie Richards said: “We thought she was going well enough to be competitive in the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, but John (Galvin) and I had a good talk and he was happy to wait for this race. It looked ideal because she can handle heavy ground and we’d been pleased with her work. We left the blinkers off when resuming at Te Rapa, and left them off when getting up to 1400 metres today and we’ll look to stretch her a little bit in distance. Although she wanted to go keenly early, I thought she settled nicely when some speed went into the race. She quickened up and won quite well. She’s an exciting filly and there certainly looks to be more wins in her.”

Burgundy Belle returned $2.50 & $1.20 on the NZ TAB tote, running the 1400 metres in 1:26.4 on footing upgraded to Heavy10 after the (first) race.

A beautifully bred filly, her sire, Burgundy (Redoute’s Choice), won five stakes races and finished third in the Telegraph (Gr. 1, 1200m), while dam Spin ‘N Grin was also a very smart performer, winning the Eight Carat Classic (Gr. 2, 1600m) and finishing second in the New Zealand Breeders’ Stakes (Gr. 1, 1600m).

Burgundy Belle was acquired by John Galvin as a yearling in a private sale for $100,000 from her Breeders David Ellis and Karyn Fenton Ellis and is the latest in a number of successful acquisitions made by John from David and Karyn. “It’s been quite amazing really,” says John, “over the years Fortuna has successfully raced Darci’s Dream, Windborne, Jacks Secret (Singapore), Major Tom (Singapore), Colorado Prince and now, Burgundy Belle – all horses bred by David and Karyn and acquired by Fortuna.”

Burgundy Belle is raced by the Fortuna Burgundy Belle Syndicate, an ownership Group of 53 Individuals, several of whom were on track at Trentham

Burgundy Belle was strapped by Ashley Handley.

Fortuna Syndicators has acquired a promising Two Year Old type who has had one start in New South Wales for a close up 6th placing. Acquired from the China Horse Club on very good terms, BRUTUS (raced as Field Of Boaz in NSW but now renamed for Singapore racing by us). Shares available from NZ$1,000 

BRUTUS has been identified by Champion Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker as an ideal type for Singapore Racing.

“BRUTUS”

A young Two Year Old with just one race day start in New South Wales, he was purchased by the powerful China Horse Club operation at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale in January 2018 for A$170,000. After racing him once and deciding he needed to be gelded, he was put up for sale by the CHC as they have a policy of only racing Colts and Fillies.

Fortuna acquired BRUTUS at the recent Inglis Online Sale for A$45,000. He is currently spelling at Lime Country Farm, an agistment property in New South Wales where he has now been gelded. He has been fully vetted and approved by the Singapore Turf Club for racing in Singapore. He is scheduled to travel to Singapore 15th July and should be ready to have his first race in Singapore in November. As a non-winner, BRUTUS will be eligible to race in Restricted Maiden Grade in Singapore, a Grade that carries prizemoney of S$75,000, (approx NZ$80,000.) A win in that Grade would then allow him to race in Novice Grade, also for S$75,000.

BRUTUS turns Three Years Old on 1 August 2019 and will be eligible for the very lucrative Singapore Three Year Old Series, a series of three races run over distances of 1200m, 1400m and 1600m between Mid-April and the end of May 2020, for prizemoney of S$175,000, S$400,000 and S$800,000 respectively.

Click HERE to see this lovely horse parading at Lime Country in New South Wales 1st May

Fortuna’s NZ Selector David Ellis comments “This Colt is an outstanding type – his colour, his walk, his conformation, he has all of the attributes of a lovely racehorse – John, you and Mark Walker have done a great job in picking this horse out”

Pedigree

BRUTUS possesses a very good pedigree. By the Stallion, Rubick (by Encosta de Lago), a very fast racehorse, he is out of the Mare, Harvest Queen, a winner on the track herself and the Dam of race track winners. Rubick is on fire as a first season Stallion with 10 Two Year old wins in Australia from his first crop, placing him 2^nd on the list of First Crop Stallions.

View the Pedigree for BRUTUS.

Training & race history

BRUTUS was entrusted to leading NSW trainer John O’Shea and had one race day start, this at Kembla Grange in New South Wales on 6^thApril where he led into the straight and was run down last few metres finishing a close up 6^th, a very good debut effort.

View Brutus debut race at Kembla Grange on 6^th April 2019 here.

Physical type

A strong, well-proportioned Chestnut by Rubick, standing 15.3 hands high and weighing 470 kgs,  BRUTUS has the physical attributes to match his pedigree. Australian bred Sprinter/Miler types have an exceptional record in Singapore over the years, particularly those who have shown form on Australian race tracks

Trainer’s view (Mark Walker)

“Brutus showed good form in his only start in Australia, possesses a lovely action, walks well and is well put together physically.  He has been lightly raced as a Two Year Old and my assessment of him is that with his pedigree and physical type, he will be perfectly suited to racing in Singapore and may well be an ideal candidate for the Singapore 3yo Series run in the Autumn of 2020”

  Syndicator’s view (John Galvin)

“This sort of opportunity is ideal for us as Syndicators, i.e  to be able to buy a well-bred, up and running Two Year Old with good Australian form on the board, for a fraction of what the original owners paid for him as a yearling – it takes a lot of guess work out of the equation both for us and his eventual ownership group. We went through this exercise last year with the 2yo Federation who, as a 3yo in Singapore has had four starts for a win and three placings.

Terms

• Shares available right down to 1%.
• 10% share NZ$10,000 – 5% share NZ$5,000 – 5% share NZ$2,500 – 1% share NZ$1,000
• Share price includes all Initial Costs (Purchase price, Promoters Fees, Transport to Singapore, Insurance through to 31st January 2020, and Working Capital of $9,000 approx
• Monthly ongoing costs commence 1^st June 2019 – from that date ongoing costs are – 10% share $360 per month – 5% share $180 per month – 2.5% share $90 per month – 1% share $36 per month.
• Monthly ongoing costs can alternatively be paid up to 12 months in advance as an option for subscribers

Purchase a share in BRUTUS today from the website HERE, or contact us for more information.

Fortuna Syndications Director John Galvin advised  today that MELODY BELLE was recently the subject of a very substantial offer to purchase her as a broodmare proposition – the offer amount was NZ$3.25 million. However, after consultation between John Galvin and Syndicate Members, the offer was declined. John Galvin commented –

“Clearly this was a very significant offer for our wonderful racemare presented by a genuine and well regarded Australian based breeding operation. Accordingly, the offer was put in front of the 34 Syndicate Members for consideration – the outcome was that 100% of the Membership chose to decline the offer. Members felt very strongly that Melody Belle had yet to reach her potential as a race horse and should be allowed to race on under the current ownership until such time as she was ready to retire from racing. Members also expressed the view that she was a well loved race horse by the NZ racing public and in what are difficult time for NZ Racing, any future success on the race track would boost the profile and spirits of Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand. As Syndicate Manager, I was humbled by this response from our Members and very pleased that she will continue to grace race tracks here in NZ and Australia.”

Fortuna Syndications Four Year Old Mare, VENUS DE MILO, proved that her Maiden win in Singapore in January was no fluke, when just 5 starts later she won again in Singapore 12th April in the Class 5 1600m event on the Polytrack for $30,000 of prize money.

The excitement of riding his first Singapore winner, since relocating from New Zealand, on his first night of riding in Singapore, was very obvious for the Malaysian born apprentice jockey Riduan Abu Bakar (he rode as Nik Bakar in NZ), as he launched into a dramatic victory salute when still 20 metres short of the winning post – an action which landed him a S$500 fine from the Stewards

Drawn wide at Barrier 10 in an 11 horse field VENUS DE MILO (Burgundy-Breezed) settled into a three wide with cover position in the run, but from about the 500 metre mark, Bakar started to edge her forward and on turning into the straight set out after the leader, gathered it in at the 200 metre mark and went on to win by 3/4 length at the line

Click HERE to see race Video replay

Venus de Milo – Wins again 12th April 2019 – Rider Nik Bakar triumphant

Bakar, who chalked up a haul of 13 winners in 62 rides in his two years in New Zealand for a healthy strike rate of 4.6 (21%), mostly for his NZ master,  Jamie Richards, certainly bore the hallmark of an experienced rookie in the way he handled Venus De Milo, a tricky mare who is not the easiest to handle.

Fortuna Syndications Boss, John Galvin, was well pleased. “Venus de Milo is not very big, but she has the heart of a lion – it took her a long time (24 starts) to win her 1st race in Singapore, but now she has scored again just five starts later and has had some bad luck in a couple of those runs. She has now won prizemoney in 18 of her 29 starts. Nik rode her perfectly and she was beautifully prepared by our Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker.”

VENUS DE MILO was acquired by John Galvin in a private sale for NZ$20,000 and is raced by the Fortuna Venus de Milo Syndicate, an ownership group comprising 30 individuals.

Matatamata Thursday Morning

Red Jakkal (M McNab), a last start winner, galloped nicely over 1000 metres in 1.07.6, last 600 in 38.8. He will race at Otaki Wednesday 10th.

Beau Geste (D Miller), another last start winner, worked nicely at three quarter pace over 1200 metres, last 600 in 44 – he is preparing to race next at Rotorua 12th April

Singapore Tuesday morning

Three Fortuna runners racing Friday evening worked nicely;

Aabir  (Thompson) – 800m/600m 37.2;    Spokesman(Woodworth) – 800m/600m 37.4;  ;  Venus De Milo(Firdaus) – 800m/600m 37.1.

Hot on the heels of a strong win at Rotorua Wednesday 21 March by RED JAKKAL, the Fortuna Syndication Team did it again at New Plymouth 2nd March, with the Four Year Old Gelding, BEAU GESTE, taking out the Maiden Highweight over 2000 metres.

A three-quarter brother to multiple Group One winner Wall Street (Montjeu), Beau Geste(4 g Pour Moi – Villa Wanda, by Grand Lodge) and with strong form at the recent Wairoa meetings (a 2nd and a 3rd) meant that BEAU GESTE was well favoured in the market and Punters sent him out a very warm favourite at $1.80. Ridden by the talented Dylan Turner, BEAU GESTE jumped nicely from the 3 barrier and finished up with an uncontested lead. Some pressure was mounted by other runners from around the 800 metre point, but on turning, the horse we nickname “Wolf” found a nice kick and was strong to the line, winning by a 2.5 length margin.

Click HERE to see race replay

BEAU GESTE breaks Maidens at New Plymouth 22nd March 2019

Trained by Jamie Richards at Matamata, BEAU GESTE’s win today was Jamie’s 81st win for the season and his 10th Training win for the Fortuna Syndications Team. “Jamie’s doing a great job overall in his first season as sole Trainer for Te Akau Racing Stables” says Fortuna Director, John Galvin, “and a great job with the Fortuna Syndicates team in particular, with 10 wins in the season to date.”

Beau Geste was acquired by David Ellis on behalf of Fortuna at the 2016 Karaka Premier Sale for the sum of $32,500 and is owned by the Fortuna Beau Geste Syndicate, an ownership Group of 26 individuals

Fortuna Three Year old Gelding RED JAKKAL provided a big thrill for his large ownership Group when clearing Maiden ranks at Rotorua 20th March 2019. Drawn nicely at Barrier 3 from the 1200 metre starting point and in the hands of super hoop, Opie Bosson, “Winston” as he is nicknamed showed good gate speed and was soon in the lead. This allowed Bosson to control the tempo and it was obvious on turning that RED JAKKAL had plenty in hand with Bosson merely shaking the reins at him down the straight and only drawing the whip with 100 metres to go

Click HERE to see race result and Video Replay

Red Jakkal breaks Maidens – Rotorua 20th March 2019 – Picture courtesy of Race Images

RED JAKKAL is a gelded son of the ill-fated International Stayer Jakkalberry, who died early in his stud career and out of the Red Giant mare Red Alert. His one previous race day start on the same track in September 2018 had yielded a fast finishing 2nd. Fortuna Director John Galvin explains the background, “David Ellis had picked this horse out for me at the 2017 Karaka Ready To Run sale after I have given him instructions to find me a nice staying type. He did show some early promise in his first preparation as a 2yo, but was put aside for a break before resuming and having two trials at Te Teko in August, the second of these being particularly pleasing – he then franked this form with a very good debut run at Rotorua in September for 2nd. After this race, Trainer Jamie Richards determined that “Winston” would be well served by having a break to attain mote maturity and this time in, he is definitely stronger and has the makings of a horse, who on type and pedigree, will definitely be suited by more distance. Our patience is paying off.”

RED JAKKAL is raced by the Fortuna Red Jakkal Syndicate, an ownership group of 75 individuals and was acquired by David Ellis on behalf of Fortuna at the 2017 NZ Bloodstock Ready To Run sale for $75,000.