Friday Flash – 30th December 2022

Fortuna Racing Celebrates a record year in 2022 with 40 individual wins – a new record

History to be made at Te Rapa New Year’s Day

MALBOROUGH BAY resumes at Te Rapa on New Years Day – he contests the Rating 65 1200m event – Race 6 @ 3.30 pm with Opie Bosson aboard from Barrier 10. This lovely 3yo by Darci Brahma won on debut at Matamata in May – he then raced well at Riccarton placing in 3 starts before getting no luck in the 2000 Guineas. Freshened since, he now steps back in grade – slightly tricky draw and will need some luck, but has right man in the saddle for that – good each way chance

HAYATE  contests the R65 1200m event at Matamata 3^rd Jan – a strong last start winner at Tauranga 9^th December, she turned around some previous very average form. Up in grade here and will face quite different track conditions to the Heavy track she got at Tauranga – talented at best, she can feature here if she copes with the firm track conditions

ANGELS WINGS contests the Maiden 3yo 1200m event at Matamata 3^rd Jan  – a solid 3^rd placing at Tauranga 9^thDecember where she looked beaten on the turn, but kept on coming, she has benefited from that run and we can look forward to her racing on a better track – can break through here

(Note the Matamata runners are nominations only at this stage – hence no race nos or times and no rider details)

No timed Fortuna trackwork this week

Fortuna Track work – Singapore

Saturday 24th December

Elliot Ness (Jamil) – 800/600 40; Trident (Jamil) – 800/600 42; King Arthur (Awah) – 1000/600 39; Knippenberg(Aslam) – 800/600 39.5; Deception (Aslam) – 800/600 39; Entertainer (Aslam) – 800/600 38.5; Rocky (Aslam) – 800/600 38.5

Yes, 21 wins in NZ, 1 in Australia and 18 in Singapore all contributed to a very successful 2022 calendar year for our racing team – these 40 victories being produced by 19 individual runners – 2021 saw 30 wins, which was a record, so we have surpassed that again – a huge thank you to all of our Owners who give us great support across the board, win, lose or draw

A few highlights from the year:

King Arthur with seven wins in 2022 from 13 starts (giving him 9 career wins in total) and collecting S$368k in stakes for the year (making S$444k career total). He wasn’t able to get past arguably the best horse in Singapore, Lim’s Kosciuszko, but was certainly the best horse in the Te Akau/Logan Stable and gave his ownership group many thrills

Soprano Supreme winning 4 times during the course of 2022 and gaining black type when 3rd at her last start in the Manawatu Cup. A very promising stayer in the making she is nominated to run in the Avondale and Auckland Cups in the coming weeks

Leaderboard winning the time honoured St Leger Stakes, a Listed event, at Trentham in March and putting in a dogged finish to run 5th in the NZ Cup on track conditions (very firm) which were not to his liking. He will run in the Wellington Cup 28th Jan

Rubicon Crossing winning the very first 2yo event of the year at Wanganui in September and then running a brave 2nd in the Welcome Stakes at Riccarton in November, earning valuable black type in the process – she will now contest the (Listed) Wellesley Stakes at Trentham 14th Jan

Malborough Bay, Hayate and Inca Belle all winning on debut with Inca Belle then winning again at her 2nd race day start

New Years Day in 2023 sees Te Rapa hosting the traditional meeting normally run at Ellerslie, but with Ellerslie out of action due to its massive track renovation project, the Waikato Racing Club steps into the breach to host this day, a raceday which is one of the highlights of the NZ Racing Calendar featuring the Group One Railway Stakes, the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Cup (formerly the City of Auckland Cup), the Group 2 Auckland Guineas plus other feature races. It is sure to be a grand occasion

Butch got us off to a great start with his first selection last week – Ladies Man  certainly took no prisoners in the run home

Here is what Butch selects for us this week

“New Year’s day is shaping up as a massive day of racing at Te Rapa and we will wait until the last for my best of the day. No 2 Astron was very impressive winning when resuming at HB and the run at Trentham subsequently was huge from a wide gate. He is drawn to get a much softer run from barrier 3 on Sunday and Craig Grylls should be able to settle him handier than last time. This 4yo son of Redwood shapes as a top line stayer in the making but I don’t see the 1600m on Sunday posing any issues. The TAB put up $3.2 about his chances which has been snapped up but the $2.8 he is currently at is still fine by me! Butch”