Lightning visit in Adelaide for Tim Fitzsimmons

ADELAIDE – Former Singapore champion trainer Tim Fitzsimmons has for months been planning a raid on one of the last Stakes races in Australia for the season.

The A$120,000 (S$108,000) Listed Lightning Stakes (1,050m) at Morphettville is one of three races that carries ‘Black Type’ across the country, joined by the Listed H G Bolton Sprint (1,200m) at Belmont and the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1,100m) at Caulfield.

Based in Bendigo, Victoria, since leaving Kranji after Singapore racing closed down in October 2024, Fitzsimmons is Morphettville-bound with Yuuki, a two-time winner from nine starts, for the race restricted to two and three-year-olds at set-weights.

Yuuki registered her maiden win at Swan Hill three starts back and followed up with victory at Seymour before returning to Swan Hill, finishing sixth to the highly regarded Cruiserweight on June 7 at her most recent outing.

On July 14, Yuuki won a Bendigo jump-out over 700m to have her in order for July 25.

“She’s going really well,” said Fitzsimmons, who was crowned Singapore champion trainer in 2022.

“She didn’t have much luck at her last start when she was four-wide with no cover at Swan Hill, but that has proven to be a pretty strong form race with Cruiserweight coming out and winning. Her form was pretty hard to fault before that.

“She’s always run into a good one. Point Barrow, then Celtics and Cruiserweight and even the horse she beat in her maiden, Scoobartie, have come out and won two convincingly.

“She’s drawn wide (11 of 12), which is a pain, but we’re hoping for a bit more rain as she loves it with a bit of sting out.

“We’re chasing some ‘Black Type’ as the owner wants to breed with her eventually and this has been a long-range plan. We planned this race six months ago.

“Hopefully, we can get a nice run from that gate, and it seems at Morphettville they do get away from the fence, so hopefully, it’s not the worst place to be.”

Fitzsimmons, who came to Singapore in 2008 as foreman and then assistant trainer to Cliff Brown, before branching out on his own in 2019, will have more than one connection to his former hunting ground on July 25.

For a start, Yuuki along with Olatunde, who contests the race before, both race in colours familiar to Singapore racing fans, the black and yellow silks worn by 2023 Singapore Derby winner Golden Monkey for Vic Elvin.

Fitzsimmons saddles a third Morphettville runner in Blazing Sword in Race 7, which unlike the other two, is not included on the Singapore Pools Perth race card.

The jockeys’ bookings also bear a strong Singapore flavour. He first tried to engage an old Kranji mate in Michael Rodd, famous for his countless wins for Brown, including on Debt Collector and Gilt Complex, among others, but the Brisbane-based rider could not make it.

He then turned to another Queensland-based jockey, Kyle Wilson-Taylor, who did have a few hit-and-runs at Kranji in its final season, albeit without success.

Fitzsimmons explained he wanted to take his own rider across to ride his trio, in particular Yuuki in the main race of the day.

“We asked Michael Rodd who came to Albury for us earlier on, but he couldn’t make it,” said Fitzsimmons.

“We used Kyle when I was in Singapore and he came up and rode Golden Monkey, so there’s that connection.

“I like the way he rides, he’s a patient rider, and he jumped at the opportunity, so it was good to lock someone in early and not have to worry about it.” SKY RACING WORLD

Additional reporting by Michael Lee