Other News
LARA ANTIPOVA to have a short spell before tackling ambitious targets in the coming months
LARA ANTIPOVA travelled back from her Trentham assignment in great order and trotted up in perfect shape Monday morning – she has now gone for a 10 to 14 day freshen up and on her return to the stable she will be prepared for two initial late summer targets – firstly the Group Two Matamata Breeders stakes on February 14 and secondly the Group One Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie on March 7. Those two races may well bring her 2yo season to a close, but depending on performance and recovery, she could possibly go to the well one more time.
LARA ANTIPOVA in action – Trentham 20th December 3025
Reflecting on her two impressive wins to date, she clearly is an exciting prospect and is following in the footsteps of two other Fortuna Fillies that have made their marks in recent years, namely
Melody Belle and Bellatrix Star. Both of these Fillies won on debut also, but interesting to note that neither won again until their 4th start,
Melody Belle in the Karaka Million and
Bellatrix Star in the Group Two Eclipse on New Year’s Day. Her Ownership Group, which typical of most of the Fortuna Syndicates, is quite large with over 60 individuals with a share and notable that a few of those had shares in
Melody Belle and a much larger number have shares in
Bellatrix Star. Also notable that a small number are “brand new” investors in a Fortuna Syndicate, which is great to see
Connections enjoying their Group Two winning success
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Shares in LEGEND OF KINGS filling steadily
I visited the Matamata Stables on Christmas Eve to conduct inspections of the Fortuna horses in work there and had a really good look at Legend Of Kings who had just finished his first week of work in the Stable and, gee, he is an imposing physical type, Typical of a European bred stayer, he is tall, rangy and stands over a lot of ground. Sam Bergerson was with me and reported that his trackwork rider had reported “lovely galloping action, big long stride, great temperament” – having retained some good base fitness from his last campaign in Australia, he is right on track to have a trial late January and then we will get him off to the races – we will see what he shows us in his Autumn campaign, but obvious staying targets for him in the 2026/27 season will be the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton in November and the Wellington Cup at Trentham in January 2027
Click HERE to see him parading at Matamata with comments from San Bergerson
- Just 15% left
- Not long to wait
- Not a lot of money
Don’t miss this opportunity
1% – $700
2.5% – $1750
5% – $3750
10% – $7000
and $50 per month per each 1% from 1 February 2026
5yo Gelding Legend of Kings (by Camelot out of Joshua’s Princess)
Click HERE to see LEGEND OF KINGS parading pre sale
Review all the above information and purchase a share in LEGENDS OF KINGS today from the link HERE or make contact with John 021 921 460 if you would like more information
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Guest Commentator – Des Coppins
Greetings John and the Fortuna Team and a special shout out to all your owners involved with your new star two year old trained by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, Lara Antipova. She’s top drawer for sure.
HER PICK UP AND GO WAS A DEFINING FEATURE
LAURA ANTIPOVA was a dominant as need be in the Group Two Wakefield and there’s little doubt, despite the convincing win on debut, that she took another big step against a more competitive line up at Trentham.
And how professional was she going across the junction and entering the straight?
Her pick up and go was a defining feature and clearly she’s got it all before her.
A 1% PERCENT SHARE FOR 100% ENJOYMENT
IT was so good meeting and briefly chatting with some of the Fortuna syndicate members in the birdcage post race at Trentham. One owner told me he only had 1% but that figure is offset by the 100% enjoyment he’s having.
Too true! If she keeps lifting the bar all of you involved will have the time of your lives traveling to see her race, whether it’s in NZ, or in Australia where she may follow the footsteps of Fortuna talents of the past in Melody Belle and Bellatrix Star who did so well on both sides of the Tasman.
WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DOES LARRY NEED?
THERE’S an old saying in racing that people with “skin in the game” should always be contenders for the right jobs in our industry.
Former top jockey Larry Cassidy sought to become a trainee race day steward following his retirement about a year ago. He believes with 40 years as a jockey – and a top one as we all know with approximately 2800 winners and 40 at group one level – you’d think he would at least get an interview if a trainee job as a race day steward in either harness or gallops code came up.
Wrong!
Evidently according to Larry himself, he wasn’t qualified enough for a wee chat with the hiring team for a potential position in Queensland’s racing judiciary. Un-bloody-believable as my dear late father in law would say!
DEJA VU FOR SIR PETER VELA AND J-MAC
FURTHER to my “tease” in the column last week it’s now official that world champion James McDonaldwill be donning the silks of Sir Peter Vela for the Tomodachi mount in the TAB Telegraph on Saturday week, January 3 at Trentham.
The race falls at an awkward time for holiday makers but the locals, who stayed in the capital, will be doing their utmost I’d imagine to make it to Trentham if they can. It’s free entry, too!
I might be wrong but I can’t recall James riding at Trentham since winning the Telegraph in the same colours with Giuseppina in January, 2012.
A three times world champ, let’s savour the moment because it won’t happen on our shores very often you’d have to think. Ellerslie Karaka nignt is out again this year for him, too, as he will be riding his pride and joy and the world’s greatest money earner Romantic Warrior in Hong Kong
TOMODACHI IS THE REAL DEAL FOR THE TELEGRAPH
AFTER watching the Matamata trial the other day I’m convinced the Wexford team have Tomodachi spot on for the Telegraph. She was under triple wraps as she coasted to the line. She’s all class!!
She won 3 of her 4 races last term and it should have been 4 from 4. Her miss, when third at Trentham behind Slipper Island, was a sad watch for punters. After being slow away she was blocked and had to change ground in the straight. The winner clocked 1.7.70 and she broke 21 for the last 400. That’s low flying!
With or without James she was always my top fancy for the big sprint. My confidence levels have now grown further for obvious reasons.
IS DESPAIR IN THE AIR WITH DOWNGRADES?
IN the last couple of seasons Trentham’s big summer races, the Levin Classic and the Thorndon Milehave been downgraded from group one to group two.
It seems one or two other top races are not on safe ground but heaven forbid if those in the firing line, the Telegraph, the Livamol, the Oaks and the Derby get shot down.
Sadly, the chopping and changing of race dates and venues hasn’t always worked in favour of these iconic events. While stakes money has risen with the advent of Entain, the lure of selling our ready made racehorses as two and three year olds to the overseas markets will always have an effect on these races in the long run. Also the opportunity to race for even bigger money in Australia comes into play as these higher rated gallopers dodge us for the group ones in Sydney or Melbourne at their respective big carnivals. Then of course as good as the pop up races like the Karaka Millions and Karaka Three Year Old as well as the “Kiwi” are amazing attractions they, too, surely impede the group status of our traditional black type races.
With so much vulnerability surrounding our epic races these days the stake monies is also going to be the big worry going forward. For example, the Harcourts Thorndon Mile is worth a half million on January 17 but will it sustain that figure next year? If the prize money is in fact reduced the chances of this race alone ever returning to group one status is 100 to one and drifting.
THE STRONG LURE OF THE SUMMER HOLIDAY SCENE
HATS off to country racing at this time of the year.
In comparison I think it all comes down to a fact that these country race days function as major social occasions and community events, close to holiday hotspots and for many families and casual friends of racing, they crowd the venues as it’s a long standing tradition passed down through generations.
Live music, various food and drink options, pop up bars and food trucks help create a vibrant atmosphere at these holiday meetings. Of course the racing adds to the excitement but the majority of the punters seemingly couldn’t care less if all the races were maidens or one win horses. They’re normally casual and primarily gold coin punters who attend and only maybe prepared to risk a fiver or a tenner at the most.
To take this further a race day like Trentham on January 3 with 5 black type races including a group one may not have the same crowd as Tauherenikau on January 2. Trentham’s keen punters instead will play it big on their lap tops or mobiles in the privacy of their own homes and leave the holiday troops to turn up at Tauherenikau in large numbers.
From a business case Trentham’s off course turnover will surge; Tauherenikau’s may not but it will make its profit through the turnstiles and on the ground activity but that makes the pair complimentary to each other for the industry’s bottom line.
I cut my teeth on the holiday racing circuits with mum and dad , uncles and aunts and few cousins. You may have done the same. I will never under estimate the importance of these holiday racing hot spots and in reality I don’t think any of us do.
Good punting over the holidays and I sincerely hope you back your share of winners and that Christmas and Boxing Day treated you well. Roll on 2026!
THREE FROM TRENTHAM TO KEEP ON SIDE
KOSTA: is showing real promise in its limited racing and after being awkwardly away I liked the way it hit the line despite the interrupted run in the home straight.
BUTLER CABIN: while having no chance with the dashing Lara Antipova I kept a close eye on the replay of this Jonno Benner trained two year old and I liked what I saw. The trainer already has De Armas as a leading light for the Karaka Millions. Butler Cabin is the 7th highest qualifier for the big one on January 24.
CAPACI: Astute CD trainer Robbie Patterson withdrew Dirty Dee from the Eulogy but had a great replacement in Capacia. In only its second start she registered the best final sectionals. She’s very progressive and the long range plan is the NZ Oaks.
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