Horse trainer Gary Portelli wants a Golden Eagle to go with his champion pigeon.
A week after the $20m Everest, big-money racing in Sydney continues with the running of the $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill next Saturday.
Gary Portelli and Golden Eagle hope EncapCredit: Wolter Peeters/SMH
Portelli would love nothing more than to win the cashed-up feature with a chestnut horse called Encap.
While Portelli loves his horses, the Warwick Farm horseman is just as passionate about his racing pigeons.
Portelli takes the sport seriously. Two of his birds recently won prestigious races – the Young Bird Derby and the All Aged Derby. One bird flew at an average of 1400m per minute from South Australia to his Warwick Farm loft, in south-western Sydney, in just over eight hours.
“The one thing about racing pigeons is you are always worried about eagles – but there will be no concerns about getting close to the Golden Eagle,” Portelli said.
Gary Portelli would love a Golden Eagle to go with his champion pigeons.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Portelli started racing pigeons when he was nine with his father, Joe. There are about 450 pigeon races scattered throughout the Sydney region, with races held every Saturday between May and October.
Portelli keeps 20 hens and 20 cocks for breeding purposes. It is the breeding season right now, which means there has been a lot of mating dances.
While Australian breeders are known around the world for breeding speed into horses, it is the Dutch who produce fast pigeons. There is no official betting on the birds.
Portelli educates pigeons by tapping a tin of food, or blowing a whistle, which indicates it is time to return to his loft. Plenty of pigeons never return, but the majority of them quickly learn if they do not cooperate, they are not fed. Countless studies have failed to understand why pigeons know how to find their way home.
‘If Encap gets luck from the gate, he’ll finish in the top three or four.’
Gary Portelli on Golden Eagle runner Encap
Portelli said pigeon lovers even spend top dollar on quality feed, which included loading birds up on carbohydrates for sprint races, and protein-based feeds for distance events.
While Portelli spends a lot of time with his pigeons, who are known by their ring numbers rather than actual names, it is nothing compared to the work he has poured into making sure Encap peaks next Saturday.
The betting market suggests a horse from Japan, Ascoli Piceno, simply has to turn up at Rosehill to win. Ascoli Piceno is regarded as the best filly in her homeland.
But Portelli is not fussed about his rivals, and knows Encap is ready to run the race of his life for his owners, who include real estate agents, farmers, retirees, and air force personnel.
Encap will run for Gary Portelli in the Golden Eagle.Credit: Getty Images
“He’s ready to peak, this has been the race we’ve thought about since his last campaign, it’s the perfect trip, he loves Rosehill, and the race is worth $10m,” Portelli said.
“He’s a genuine chance, and I don’t care who is in the race.
“In my opinion, this is a better deal for the owners than the actual Everest. The Everest is worth $7m to the winner, but you have to carve that money up with slot-holders. The money from the Golden Eagle goes to the owners, plus a charity.
“If Encap gets luck from the gate, he’ll finish in the top three or four, for sure.
“We always had a healthy opinion of him when he was younger. He cost $200,000 at the Easter sales, but he looked like a bodybuilder when he first came into the stables.
“He was all muscle, only wanted to chase all the girls, and his mind was never on running fast.
“So the Golden Slipper dream and stallion dream quickly slipped away, and we had to give him the chop. He was a little man with a big ego.
“We couldn’t work him out sometimes with some of his performances. He won his first trial, which included Griff, a horse that went on to win the Caulfield Guineas. He just needed time.
“Now he’s learned what it is all about. I just love the way finishes his races. At times, it’s like he sprouts wings.”
Another horse prepared by Portelli, Kintyre, could yet race in the Golden Eagle, depending on how he performs in the last race at Randwick on Saturday.
What makes the Golden Eagle extra special is that $1m of the prizemoney is donated to various charities. Rather than ask the owners of each horse to nominate a charity, Racing NSW have chosen 20 organisations, which will be aligned to a horse at Tuesday’s barrier draw.
