Bendigo beckons for trainer Fitzsimmons

While it is business as usual at Kranji despite the racing days being numbered, trainer Tim Fitzsimmons has not wasted time in finding his next workplace back home.

The Australian horseman has already purchased stables in Bendigo, in his home state of Victoria. He will move to the small city 150km north-west of Melbourne with his family of five one month after Singapore racing shuts down on Oct 5.

Ranked among the big guns in Singapore, Fitzsimmons, along with the likes of reigning champion trainer Jason Ong, Daniel Meagher and David Kok, still helms a sizeable team at Kranji.

From the 35 horses left on his books, most will be sold or move to Malaysia, but at least nine will join him in Australia – along with possibly another three or four.

Unsurprisingly, tickets have been booked for the stable’s top seed Golden Monkey and the next three in the ratings – Dream Alliance, Raising Sixty-One and King Of Sixty-One. The others on the shortlist are also sensible picks, young up-and-comers with scope for progress, like last weekend’s winner Ravalli, Mt Niseko, Lightning Strike, Black Storm and Golden Brown.

“It’s a nice set-up with lovely facilities and 26 boxes, right across the Bendigo track,” said the 2022 Singapore champion trainer. “I liked the place and bought it in a private sale.

“Things will be slow at first. We’ve only got the horses I’ll bring along to start with, plus some horses that are already there.

“Owners like Jig/Elvin Racing (Golden Monkey, Mt Niseko), Legacy Power (Dream Alliance, Ravalli), Buffalo (Lightning Strike, Black Storm), AJ’s (Raising Sixty-One, King Of Sixty-One) and Gold Stable (Golden Brown) will join me and have already said they would buy more horses for me.

“It’s sad we have to leave Singapore but, at the same time, my wife Joan, our three children and myself are looking forward to the new challenge back home.”

Until then, Fitzsimmons will still wake up at 5am to put his wards through their paces at a place that will soon make way for bulldozers.

His sole winner Ravalli at the last meeting on Aug 25, in the $50,000 Class 4 race (1,200m), certainly made the hard slog to the bitter end more bearable.

“Ravalli’s an exciting horse. He’s won three in a row, is almost undefeated and probably should not have lost the first race on debut,” said Fitzsimmons.

“On Sunday, he won with 59kg and Ryan (Curatolo) rode him beautifully. He won’t run till a Class 2 (1,200m) on Gold Cup day as there’s no other race for him.”

With six meetings still left to make hay while the sun shines at Kranji, Fitzsimmons’ horses have not had a chance to loaf around, be it the small team of five – Ace Sovereign, Green Star, Ben’s Champion, Gold Governor and Dancing Light – heading out this week on Sept 1 or on the training tracks, ahead of the big-race meeting coming up on Sept 7.

Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1,800m) hopeful Dream Alliance was the stable head-turner at the barrier trials on Aug 27.

With race-rider Curatolo in the irons, the Into Mischief chestnut finished better than fellow QEII Cup contender Bestseller (Bernardo Pinheiro) to sew up the heat with 1½ lengths to spare.

“The plan has always been to trial him one week before the big race. He did the same before his second in the Kranji Mile (May 18),” said Fitzsimmons.

“It was a super trial, he’s always been sharp in his trials. It will serve as a decent guide after he beat Ricardo’s (Le Grange) horse (Bestseller), who ran a close second to Lim’s Saltoro in the Stewards’ Cup.”

Even if all of Dream Alliance’s five Kranji wins were registered over 1,400m, the six-year-old has been pitched as a stayer since his short head-second to Lim’s Kosciuszko in the 2023 Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m).

Fitzsimmons is adamant that the QEII Cup trip is right up his alley, rubbishing comments that his second-up sixth in the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1,600m) was a backward step from his encouraging fourth at his comeback since the mighty Kranji Mile run.

“He’s a staying-oriented horse and is looking for 1,800m and 2,000m now,” he said.

“I was actually very happy with his Raffles Cup run on the short course. He ran the fastest sectionals in the last 200m.

“Ryan will keep the ride in the QEII Cup and the Gold Cup. I think he’s got a lovely chance in both.”

The flagbearer remains Golden Monkey, who ran a smack-up third to the Lim’s Saltoro-Lim’s Kosciuszko Raffles Cup quinella.

Sydney jockey Chad Schofield again flies in for the QEII Cup ride, his penultimate before the last roll of the dice in the Grand Singapore Gold Cup on Oct 5.

manyan@sph.com.sg