Fortuna has six runners this weekend, four in NZ and two in Singapore

Two of our runners are contesting the 158^th running of the New Zealand Cup – how good is that!!!

New Zealand

Leaderboard runs in the New Zealand Cup over 3200m – Race 10 at 4:30 pm – a strong staying type who should run the trip on pedigree, his form in the South Island leading up to this race has been very ordinary and he will need to lift in order to be competitive here. Kozzi Asano takes the mount. He has been running on firm tracks and probably does need to get his toe into the ground to show his best and there is some rain forecast tomorrow which would assist his chances. Is at long odds and on recent form deserves to be – rain will improve his chances

Khafeef also gets his chance in the New Zealand Cup – Race 10 at 4.30 pm – a UK import with a stout staying pedigree, he was very good in winning the Rating 65 2200 at Awapuni two weeks ago. Arguably the “dark horse” in this field, he brings very good form but has to compete against a higher class of runners. Should stay the trip better than most and does have claims – Each way

Charmaines Dream contests the R65 1200 at Tauranga – Race 4 @ 2.28 pm – a winner at this track in August, she has had one resuming race and ran well without placing, has trialed since. Joe Kamaruddin rides from a difficult barrier, so she will be ridden forward from the draw – can feature in this if she gets luck in the running. Each Way

Ragamuffin races at Waverley on Sunday 14^th – this 2020 Ready To Run graduate was pleasing on debut at Te Aroha two weeks ago finishing in 5^th place – will take improvement from that – is drawn nicely here. Can feature

Singapore

Hidden Promise contests the Class 5 1600 Polytrack event – Race 3 at 5pm NZT –  this grand old nine year old has the legs of a 3 year old, has won seven times in Singapore and certainly gets his chance here ridden by Singapore’s leading ridder, K Hakim, claiming 2kgs!! Is in great form, strikes Division 2, has an OK draw – strong each way chance

Here is what the Singapore Turf Club tipsters have to say about this race;

1st Pick: HIDDEN PROMISE (2)
From the leading barn here in Singapore. Coming off a strong second-last start and has track/distance stats to suggest he’ll be a major player.
2nd Pick: FLYING YELLOW (1)
Put a line through last start, stood there and missed away. Has a trial in between runs and should be ready to fire here.
3rd Pick: ENDLESS (13)
One who could open at a price here this weekend if he gets in. Despite not winning a race, has been thereabouts and looks one for the multiples.
4th Pick: ACCUMULATION (7)
Four second placings from his 10 starts over the mile on the Polytrack. Rarely wins but in this field, could run in the money for sure.

King Arthur races in the Novice 1200 Poly – Race 6 @ 7.30pm – brings excellent form to this race with a win and a 2^nd in his last 2 starts – Shafiq Rusof takes the mount from a good draw in what is an even field – will be very hard to hold out here

Here is what the Singapore Turf Club tipsters have to say about this race;

1st Pick: KING ARTHUR (1)
Looks the standout in this. Unlucky second last time out. Big say.
2nd Pick: DINAR (14)
Impressive debut winner despite his greenness. Tackles tougher lot here. Has made further headway but will have to overcome a wide alley this time. Shadow roll on. Stiffer task but not without a say.
3rd Pick: AMAZING BREEZE (3)
Only one win but has always been hitting around the mark since. Expected to put in another bold showing. Winkers on. Include in your exotics.
4th Pick: NATE’S CHAMPION (5)
Bolted up in Class 5 company at his last outing. Goes up a class but can still hold his own if he reproduces his last-start form.

“King Arthur” – winning in Singapore  2021

Fortuna Track work – Matamata
Tuesday 9^th November

Navalha (R Khan) worked at three quarter pace over 800 metres in 1.02.
Soprano Supreme (J Kamaruddin) galloped over an easy 800 metres, running the last 600 in 37.9.

Thursday 11^th November

Madame Moet (H Durrant) galloped over 1000 metres in 1.03, last 600 in 36.5.
Ragamuffin (N Parmar) galloped over an easy 1000 metres in 1.10, home in 40.
Charmaine’s Dream (A Jones) worked at three quarter pace over 1000 metres, quickening over the last 600 to finish in 42.

Other News

“CUPS” racing

What a wonderful few weeks it has been with the recent runnings of the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, with the latter producing an outstanding result for its “Kiwi” equine, rider and trainer combo – this coming Saturday sees the running of the time-honoured New Zealand Cup which is of course, a rather “poor relation” in comparison to the first two mentioned above, but nevertheless as a wonderful race to be able to compete in, let alone win

And the Fortuna team is particularly privileged to have two runners in this Saturdays event, Leaderboard and Khafeef, both of course imported from the UK and genuine staying types.

I have been involved in racing almost all of my life and in my formative years the annual pilgrimage to Trentham from my nearby home in the Hutt Valley to watch the Wellington Cup was a highlight and I remember, as a 17-year-old, catching the express train from Wellington to Auckland so that I could attend an Auckland Cup at Ellerslie. There is indeed something magic about the Cups races and it’s hard to find anybody involved in racing, be they trainer, jockey owner or race goer, who would not like to have an involvement in a horse good enough to run in one of these great staying tests.

In recent years, we have had a favourite for the NZ Cup (Zabene in 2011) – he had won the Metropolitan Gold Trophy the week before in commanding fashion – unfortunately an overnight downpour which turned the track into a Heavy 10, resulted in us late scratching him for the Cup, as he was useless under such track conditions.

And then in 2016, we acquired the Irish bred Chance To Dance, 10 days before he was due to run in the Sydney Cup – he wasn’t cheap to buy, but we sold all the shares in 7 days to our clients. Once again, we were cursed by circumstances – a horse fell near the back of the field as they left the straight for the first time – the Stewards panicked and declared an abandonment  – in a scene out of the Keystone Cops, inadequate warning facilities meant that about two thirds of the riders were not aware of the abandonment, including us and fought to the line tooth and nail – “Ted” as we had nicknamed our horse, finished 2nd but of course the A$390k for 2nd was just an illusion as it was a no race. Two weeks latter, the Sydney Cup was re-run and, Ted, quite a tired horse by this time, (his 3rd 2 mile race in 5 weeks), ran a gallant 5th placing – he came to NZ after that and won two Listed races here before retiring

So, now we present a fresh opportunity to our clients to become involved in a genuine “Cups type” horse.

As you may well know, we have been “shopping” at the Tattersalls UK Horses In Training Sale, where we acquired the lovely 3yo Gelding, WITHOUT ENVY (Lope De Vega – Purple Pride) – interesting that our two previous Tattersalls buys, Leaderboard and Khafeef, are both in the NZ Cup field (3200m) on Saturday, so we do seem to be buying the right sort of horse.

The breaking news on WITHOUT ENVY is that he will not be coming to New Zealand for a preparation – he will fly to Australia from the UK in early December, quarantine near Melbourne for two weeks and then go to the training establishment of Anthony and Sam Freedman in Victoria to be prepared for his first preparation. This clearly is a divergence away from how we have handled things with the other two UK horses, where our thinking had been to bring them to New Zealand, prepare them here, see how they went in staying races here and if good enough they could then race in Australia.

WITHOUT ENVY is a one start maiden still (2nd at Ascot on debut) and there is a lot of low hanging fruit for him to collect as he works through the grades in Australia – probably 3 to 4 times more prize money for the same level of racing as compared to here in New Zealand.

There are a few other factors as well – the Freedmans were one of the first Australian training organisations to start buying these types of horses from this sale 15 or so years ago and have had much success – they also have fantastic training facilities at their Pinecliff property at Mount Eliza which is outside of Melbourne but has a complete set of training tracks including two uphill 800m tracks, one Turf, one sand and a short walk through some bush trails down to the beach. Click HERE to see their facilities. We have to remember that with this sort of UK/Irish bred horse, these are the sorts of facilities that they are used to, i.e working in straight lines rather than going around corners in their daily work.

Also, leaving him in Australia means a lower GST payable on entry (10% vs 15%) and no airfare from Aus to NZ.

And of course, the big Cups races are right on his doorstep – it is a huge dream to have a horse good enough to contest a Caulfield or Melbourne Cup, but Without Envy, with his pedigree, his physical type and his early preparation, is very typical of the sorts of European bred horses who have been winning these races over the past few years. Step it down a level and there is a whole range of distance races being run for A$250k to A$600k, mostly being won by horses with UK/Irish pedigrees.

So my view is that here is a great opportunity  for our clients to buy into a “ready made” Cups type horse. “Felix” as we have now nicknamed him will arrive in Aus 7th of December. Read more about him below and shares can be orders directly off the Fortuna website HERE

About Without Envy

WITHOUT ENVY has been identified by Fortuna’s John Galvin as an ideal “staying type”, who has the pedigree, conformation and  form to be competitive in Middle Distance/Two Mile races in Australia/New Zealanf. John was assisted in this selection by International Bloodstock Agent, Hubie De Burgh and the Fortuna Trainers, Mark Walker (Singapore) and Jamie Richards (NZ)

Now a Four Year Old Gelding Southern Hemisphere time, but a Three Year old  Northern Hemisphere time (foaled April 2018, WITHOUT ENVY has had just one race day start – this at Ascot UK where he finished 2^nd over 2400m in a Novice Stakes race

Fortuna acquired WITHOUT ENVY at the October Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale at Newmarket UK – this after usual due diligence including a thorough Vet examination by Dr Duncan Moir of Newmarket

WITHOUT ENVY is currently agisting at the IRT (our shippers) agistment farm near Newmarket awaiting entry to the quarantine facility (needs to quarantine for 3 weeks) ahead of flying to  Australia  in early December. On exiting quarantine in Australia, he will travel straight to the Freedman facilities where they will assess him and work out a plan for him

Pedigree
WITHOUT ENVY possesses a very stout pedigree. He is by the exceptional International Stallion LOPE DE VEGA (by Shamardal),  the Sire of over 660 winners and 88 Stakes winners including 13 Group One winners in all major jurisdictions. His dam, PURPLE PEARL (by Danehill Dancer), won twice at 1600 metres and she is the dam of three foals to race -all winners, including Purple Light who has won 7 races in France and Italy at distances up to 3800m. The Granddam, PEARL SKY (by Kahyasi) won 4 times up to 2100 including at Group 3 level and was placed three times at Group 2 level. She is the dam of Kazarov (half brother to PURPLE PEARL), who won 9 times from 2650m to 4500m. Clearly the female side of this pedigree is very stout and is offset by the more brilliant Sire influence of Lope de Vega
Click HERE to view WITHOUT ENVY pedigree

Physical type 
A strong, handsome, athletic Bay Gelding, standing 16.1 hands high and weighing 510kgs,  WITHOUT ENVY is hard to fault physically – still developing and maturing, he has a bit of filling out to do physical and will grow into a strong, powerful type with a bit more time – he has a very relaxed galloping action and walks well – he passed his Vet exam with flying colours – Click HERE to see WITHOUT ENVY parading 28^th October

WITHOUT ENVY – Newmarket 28th October

Background
WITHOUT ENVY was bred by Stone Roses Bloodstock and was prepared for racing in the UK by highly successful trainer, Andrew Balding.  Immature as a Two Year Old, he was given plenty of time by his connections and made his race day debut as an Autumn 3yo at Ascot 1 October 2021 in a Novice Stakes race over 2400m – he finished the race off very powerfully for a 2^nd placing. Click HERE to see the race replay (rider has white cap and sleeves and red jacket)

Agent’s view (Hubie De Burgh)
“My brief from John Galvin was to find a physically correct 3yo with a nice pedigree page that could run a trip under Australian/New Zealand conditions. WITHOUT ENVY, despite not having a lot of exposed form, was on my short list right from the start, as he is a very attractive physical specimen who showed good form in his only race day run – he vetted well, we secured him for budget and I think will do a very good job for John and his Fortuna team “down under.”

Trainer’s view (Jamie Richards-NZ)
“This horse impressed me with how he raced on his debut run – set for a reasonable quality race on debut and still a Maiden, he relaxed well in the run and presented with a very strong finish. I have seen his parade and he is a physically attractive type, strong through the shoulder who walks well. I believe he can only improve physically with a bit more time.

Trainer’s view (Mark Walker-Singapore)
“John Galvin asked to assist him in a selection from this sale – I reviewed the races and parades of all of the horses on John’s short list, we rejected a few and got down to three prime candidates, of which WITHOUT ENVY was one – I was really taken with his Ascot performance – to make a debut at 2400m as a Maidener out of his grade and finish off so powerfully meant he got a big tick from me  – he also paraded very well with a lovely relaxed walk and presents as a very physically correct type.”

Syndicator’s view (John Galvin)
“As we know it is extremely difficult to breed, or buy as a yearling, a genuine staying type that can run distance races in NZ/Aus – add to the mix that UK/Irish bred horses are dominating middle-distance and Cups races in Australia and it is very apparent that a good way of securing types that can run a trip and be genuine Cups performers is to go to this type of sale and purchase there – this is a strategy that we applied in 2018 and 2019 with the purchase of Leaderboard and Khafeef and it is no coincidence that both those horses are nominated for the Two Mile New Zealand Cup at Riccarton  13^th of November. WITHOUT ENVY was on our short list right from the start and I am very happy to have secured him for Syndication to our clients – our objective is to work him through the grades in Australia and, if good enough, to aim him at the major Cups races in Australia”

Disclosure Statement & Agreement
View and/or Download the  Disclosure Statement and the Syndicate Agreement for WITHOUT ENVY

Terms

• Shares available right down to 1%.
• 10% share $30,000 – 5% share $15,000 – 5% share $7,500  – 1% share $3,000 (all pricing in NZ$) (Credit Terms available to approved purchasers)
• Share price includes all Initial Costs (Purchase price, Promoter and Agent Fees, Transport to Aus from the UK, Aus GST on entry, Insurance through to 31st January 2023, and Working Capital of over $20,000
• Monthly ongoing costs from 1^st April 2022 – from that date ongoing costs are – 10% share $400 per month – 5% share $200 per month – 2.5% share $100 per month – 1% share $40 per month.
• Monthly ongoing costs can alternatively be paid up to 12 months in advance as an option for subscribers by Bank Payment or Credit Card

Purchase a share in WITHOUT ENVY today from the Fortuna website HERE or email john@fortuna-nz.com or call/text 021 921 460 if you require more information

Lockdowns

As you would appreciate would be the case with our very large client base, I communicate with a lot of people during the course of an ordinary week – syndicate updates and newsletters of course, but also phone calls and emails from many of our clients – this week the phone has been running red hot with calls, in particular, those who are living in level three areas that are unable to attend the race meetings this weekend and in particular, the New Zealand Cup meeting where we have two of our runners. By the way, you should note that I am not a member of any political party and do not belong to any pressure group  –  I think I am just a typical hard-working New Zealand businessman who is endowed with a fair degree of experience and some solid common sense and my comments come from that perspective.

I detect from these various communications,  that compared to this time a year ago when there was a lot of tolerance and support for government action to contain COVID-19, this time round that tolerance has largely evaporated particularly in the light of what many impartial commentators see as a poor execution by the government with its overall Covid vaccination rollout programme and  hospital preparation. In other words, we the people, the so called “team of 5 million” have obeyed the rules, followed the guidance, but are now paying the price for the incompetence shown by “our leaders”

Then there are the rules – I have yet to find anyone who can adequately explain to me why it is, that at the present time around 2000 people are home isolating in Auckland – many of these people (but not all) will be unvaccinated and yet about 30,000 New Zealanders are desperate to get home from overseas – those of them (which would be virtually all, given current airline regulations) who are double vaccinated and can produce evidence of a negative Covid test have to isolate in MIQ facilities!!! – and of course, as has been well documented, the slots in  those facilities are extremely difficult to get – this does not make any sense – we have people in the community with Covid symptoms self isolating (and who knows how that is being policed) and we have people outside of borders that are completely free of Covid and can prove so, but aren’t allowed to self isolate on their return to New Zealand – when Minister Hopkins is asked for his response to this he says something like “we are taking advice from our health advisors and they say that the time is not right to alter the MIQ settings” –  presumably these are the same health advisors who, at the start of the epidermic were predicting 80,000 deaths in New Zealand, presumably these are also health advisors who are earning  substantial six-figure salaries and wouldn’t have too many clues about how to run a business or of the pain and financial sacrifice that’s been forced upon many sectors particularly in Auckland. At a political level, when I look at the individuals around the cabinet table and their life/employment/business experience, it is hard not to draw the conclusion that we are being governed by “political students”

Secondly looking at the rules, it’s possible to have 25 people at level three step 2 having a picnic but the same 25 people cannot eat the same food at a restaurant with outdoor tables service !!! – one would assume these rules are being designed by politicians and bureaucrats happily ensconced in Wellington under level two conditions and sipping their Chai lattes at a café in Lampton Quay!!!