New addition to training ranks gets down to business

A FEW months on from his arrival in Bendigo, Group 1-winning trainer Tim Fitzsimmons is ready to ramp things up.

Having saddled up only a handful of runners since establishing himself in Shane Fliedner’s former premises – across the road from the Bendigo racecourse – but importantly having ticked off his first Australian winner at Swan Hill on 4 April, the former Singapore trainer is anticipating busier and brighter days ahead.

Melbourne born and bred, Fitzsimmons has settled in Bendigo with his wife Joan and children JJ, Joyce and Julian.

The couple is expecting another child in September.

Fitzsimmons, who spent 17 years in Singapore, initially as Cliff Brown’s assistant trainer and then training successfully in his own right, before the shutdown of the industry late last year, notched up his first winner on home soil with Condor at Swan Hill.

The four-year-old gelding had previously won twice in 13 starts in Singapore for Fitzsimmons.

His Swan Hill victory came with a dash of sentiment.

“It’s really fitting that the owners of this horse, the Yong family, they gave me my first winner in Singapore, so to have my first winner in Australia, it means a lot,” Fitzsimmons said.

“The staff I’ve got have been great, they’ve worked really hard, it’s just great to get off the mark and hopefully, we’re away now.”

Excited to be back in Victoria, Fitzsimmons said the decision to base himself in Bendigo was a matter of perfect location and perfect timing.

“We had a good look around and we really wanted to buy our own stables and this was perfect, as we needed somewhere to live as well,” he said.

“We looked at a lot of different places (in Australia), but we definitely wanted to buy and not rent stables.

“We came up here last year and couldn’t find any stables, but through connections we were advised to ring Shane.

“His place wasn’t even on the market, but a couple of days later he rang and said he would be keen (to sell).

“I sent my brother up from Melbourne and he liked it, so I flew back from Singapore for 24 hours and ended up buying it.

“I love Bendigo. We are still getting used to it, but it is nice. I like the slower-pace lifestyle.

“It’s a big change to what we are used to, but now when I drive to Melbourne, I just can’t wait to get out of the joint.”

Fitzsimmons, whose biggest win to date was the Group 1 Singapore Derby with Golden Monkey in 2023, is hoping to replicate the success he enjoyed abroad that led to him winning the Singapore trainers’ premiership in 2022 and finishing top three in the standings in 2023 and ’24.

The 43-year-old can sense business is about to pick up.

“We spent the first few months getting the family settled and schools sorted, and we renovated the stables a little bit, but we should start having more runners this month,” he said.

“We’ve got about 17 (horses) at the moment – we are slowly building it up.

“It’s like any new business, it takes time to build up, but it’s going well.”

Horses from the stable to keep an eye on include Golden Monkey, who amassed $1.2 million in stakemoney in Singapore, and the four-year-old Ravalli, a winner of four of nine starts overseas, who has shown encouraging form at the trials since relocating to Bendigo.

Like any trainer worth his salt, Fitzsimmons – who trained upwards of 58 horses while in Singapore but has room for 26 in Bendigo – has lofty ambitions.

Having tasted Group 1 success before, he hopes he can one day repeat the feat.

It has been more than 50 years since a Bendigo-trained galloper savoured Group 1 success.

Fitzsimmons is aiming to be next in line.

“My whole objective is to win another Group 1,” he said.

“It’s not to train big numbers (of horses) like I used to up in Singapore, I want to win good races.”