KING ARTHUR breaks through for his 1st Singapore win

Fortuna’s Four Year Old Gelding, KING ARTHUR (I Am Invincible – Pentasia), produced a regal performance when opening his account in the Open Maiden 120om event at Singapore’s Kranji racecourse on Saturday 2nd October at his 7th race day start. KING ARTHUR had shown good form in his previous six starts, running 2nd or 3rd in four of them, but had been plagued by a series of difficult barrier draws. Drawing Barrier 4 this time and in the hands of former Singapore Champion Apprentice Shafiq Rusof, KING ARTHUR left the barriers nicely, was then eased out of a three wide position to take up a slot one off the rail and behind the speed. Peeled out by Shafiq on turning, he balanced up and maintained a strong finishing run down the Kranji straight under the steadying weight of 57.5kgs – the 2nd placed runner, Superior Coat, carrying 7kgs less, put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, KING ARTHUR was too strong, going to the line with a 1 length margin.

Click HERE to see the race replay

Fortuna’s Singapore Trainer, Mark Walker, expressed quiet satisfaction after the race “This bloke is a nice horse in the making – he has shown good form but can get quite temperamental pre race, as was the case today, but Shafiq settled him down nicely on the way to the start, got him into a good position in the race and he was just too good in the end. It’s a great result for John Galvin and his Fortuna Team, they are on fire at the moment with a winner almost every week.” Walker is on fire himself at the moment, producing another double of wins on the day and surging to a 7 win margin in the Singapore Trainers’s Premiership with just a handful of meetings to go to the end of the season.

“King Arthur” – 1st Singapore Win 2nd October 2021

Fortuna Director John Galvin, watching the race from his New Zealand base, was also a happy man with the result “KING ARTHUR has been knocking on the door, he clearly has ability, but is inclined to over race a bit and has had bad luck with barrier draws – I thought Shafiq rode him very cleverly, easing him back off the speed into a one off running position and it was a great result for his loyal band of owners. Kudos to Mark Walker and his team, Mark is the consummate professional and is doing a great job with the Fortuna NZ Stable Team in Singapore and is on the way to another Singapore Premiership.”

KING ARTHUR’s win was the 16th win for the Fortuna NZ Stable in Singapore for 2021 with nine individual winners putting them into a clear 2nd position on the Owner’s Premiership Table.

Fortuna acquired KING ARTHUR at the July 2020 Inglis Digital Sale for A$25,000. He had had two races in Australia for his previous owners from the Stable of Bjorn Baker. He is owned by the Fortuna King Arthur Syndicate, an ownership group of 31 individuals.