She Dances Home Again

Two wins today for the Te Akau team at Matamata - first Shocking Luck and then Dame Margo Fonteyn ...

Te Akau trainers Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards bagged their second win with staying horses on 14 December at Matamata, when Dame Margo Fonteyn (3 f High Chaparral - Dancing Forever, by Keeper) took out the Matamata Tyre Services Rating 65 1600 metres.

The stable top and tailed the ten-race programme, after Shocking Luck (Shocking) won the first over 2000 metres.

Owned by the Fortuna Dame Margo Fonteyn Syndicate, managed by John Galvin, Dame Margo Fonteyn had provided Galvin and Fortuna Syndications their 100^th winner trained by Te Akau when she won her Maiden over 1400 metres on 1 December at New Plymouth.

“I thought it was a splendid effort,” Galvin said. “She put herself into the race and had every right to be run over at the end, but she just kept on fighting."

Ridden by Matt Cameron, Dame Margo Fonteyn utilized a handy to draw to race in front on the rail, although was given no peace by a rival to her outside. After shaking off the challenger when going for home at the 400m, she never flinched and had matters in hand near the line.

“She had her ears pricked the whole way,” Cameron said. “We had to make the most of the draw and once a horse came at her in the straight she fought really hard, and the better the fields she comes up against the better she's going to be. They'll be more competitive and she'll have horses to chase down which will help her in the long run."

Cameron added: “She's probably never going to feel one-hundred percent in her action, but that's just her and she galloping out fine."

Dame Margo Fonteyn ran the 1600 metres in 1:37.7, last 600m in 36.7, and paid $7.40 & $2.40 on the tote.

David Ellis thought the filly was “particularly good buying at the price” when he outlaid $80,000 at the 2015 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale, from the draft of Cambridge Stud.

“We had our staff Christmas party at the races and everyone was really stoked when Dame Margo Fonteyn won the last race, and she was very well ridden by Matt Cameron,” Ellis said.

“She is a filly I have no hesitation is saying that will major races next season, and sensibly the boys aren't going to rush her now.  She is in the stable that is looked after by Kerry Jones, and I thought she showed a lot of ticker today. She is obviously a high-class filly.

“She was the only horse I bought off Sir Patrick (Hogan) that year, and I know he was disappointed that I only bought one horse, but she is a good one,” he said.

“It's never easy for a horse to win a Maiden and jump straight into a Rating 65 and win that as well, so obviously we've got a really exciting filly on our hands,” Richards said.

“It's good to have another promising horse for John Galvin and his team of members that were there today in force.

“She's an exciting sort of filly and we'll just give her a few days and see how she cools out before making any plans, but hopefully she has some black type races on the radar,” he said.

On hand to witness the win, one of her owners, trainer John Steffert, from Te Aroha, said: “It's great to be involved and have someone else do the work.”

Dame Margo Fonteyn was strapped by Jasmine Fawcett.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz

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