2yo Colt by Charm Spirit out of Thurlow

On Tuesday 11th October, we secured the Charm Spirit – Thurlow Colt – Lot 79 for A$80,000 from the Inglis Ready 2 Race sale in Sydney – Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer Donna Logan was down from Singapore for the sale and she had identified this Colt as a “must buy” – this after inspecting every horse on the Sales ground Sunday and Monday – she had picked out five potential purchases for us to consider – Lot 79 (who was Donna’s No 1 preference) was the first to go through the ring. We were not confident that we could secure him as the vendor had paid A$65,000 for him at the Inglis Premier Yearling sale in Melbourne and our budget was A$80,000 but in the end we prevailed. This horse will be gelded immediately and will be sent to Singapore to race

Physical Type – a strong, athletic type standing just under 16 hands and tipping the scales at 496 kgs, he is a lovely physical specimen.

Click HERE to see the catalogue page which contains the pedigree page and also the Breeze up Video, a Breeze up Day Video Clip, a Parade Clip and a clip showing some of his preparation.

Pedigree – by the Irish Bred Group One winning CHARM SPIRIT, the Sire of over 290 winners, including 15 Stakes winners, he is out of the dual Stakes winning (in Victoria)  Mare, THURLOW (by Sebring), this is a very strong pedigree page. Interesting to note that Donna currently has two up and comers in her Stable by Charm Spirit, the Te Akau syndicated 4yo Charminton (3 wins, 3 2nds from 5 starts) and the Kylie Bax syndicated 3yo Luxury Brand (2 wins, 2 2nds from 5 starts)

Vetting – this Colt had his X Rays and Scope inspected by our Singapore Vet, Dr Dan Shaw, who declared his X Rays clean and he was a Grade One (highest grade) on his scope and our very good Matamata Vet, Dr Ronan Costello, was at the sales ground – he undertook a physical inspection for us and passed him with No Significant Findings, commenting that he would benefit from Gelding (which we would be doing anyway) and that he was probably still 6 months away from being fully mature (which Donna had already identified as well) – and is going to be about 6 months before he would have his first trial anyway

Ongoing Plans – he will be gelded in the next few days, plus get his Singapore vaccinations and will travel to Singapore late December – he will quarantine there for two weeks and then join his stablemates at the Te Akau Racing Stables at Kranji race track where Donna will get him ready for racing. Assuming that he exits Singapore quarantine early January, he could be ready to have his first Singapore trial (they are required to have two Singapore trials before racing) mid April – still a 2yo at that point, he will be eligible for any 2yo races at that time (the 2023 Singapore calendar is still being finalised) but will also be eligible (as a 2yo) for Restricted Maiden Grade racing, a grade which carries S$75k of prize money (approx NZ$90k at current exchange rate).

Note that he is also eligible for this Grade as a 3yo and once winning in that Grade he is eligible for Novice Grade (for 1 win horses), also for prizemoney of  S$75k  – notable that the Fortuna 4yo, Trident, who has had 4 Singapore starts for 2 wins and 2 2nds, has won in both Restricted Maiden and Novice grades and has accumulated S$104k in stakes to date – this is why we love racing in Singapore!!!

Donna says “John, you have made me a very happy Singapore Trainer – I had a very open mind during inspections, but I kept coming back to this fellow – he is a lovely physical type who vetted well and who will benefit immensely from the two month break he will have in NSW before flying to Singapore – I wasn’t sure if we could get him for your budget, but the sale was quite patchy and we clearly got lucky. My two Charm Spirits in Singapore are taking all before them and there is no reason why this boy cannot do the same.”

Terms – all up this Colt will be fully syndicated for NZ$152,000 – this includes Purchase price, Promoters Fees, Vetting costs, Transport to Singapore, Insurance paid to 31 Jan 2024 and working capital of just under $14k – 10% share = $15,200, 5% share = $7,600, 2.5% share = $3,800 and 1% share = $1,520. And then $40 per month per each 1% share from 1 Jan 2023

As I am sure you are only too well aware, Fortuna Racing has had a great run in Singapore in recent years (19 wins in 2021 and 17 so far in 2022) – we seem to be buying the right type of horse for Singapore conditions and of course, Donna Logan is currently the leading Trainer in Singapore with her team firing on all cylinders

At this stage ahead of finalising our paperwork, we are taking expressions of interest.

All you need to do is to respond to this update HERE expressing interest (please provide your preferred percentage) –  Official syndication paperwork will be finalised over the next few days and once done, those who have expressed interest will have the opportunity to peruse the Disclosure material and make a final decision to proceed at that point.