Latest news with #ItalianStallion
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Gelded Italian import Tempesti to continue improvement for Matt Cumani at Sandown on Saturday
Apollo Creed wasn't the only one to have trouble with an Italian Stallion. Like the Rocky movie combatant, Ballarat trainer Matt Cumani found his Italian Stallion difficult to handle. Apollo Creed lost his heavyweight title in Rocky II. Tempesti lost his stallion status after Cumani had him gelded a few weeks after the Italian Derby runner-up started work in Australia. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'In Italy, they told me he was a very straightforward and very well behaved horse but Australia is very different with all the stables being open-aired and all the horses passing in front of them,' Cumani said. 'We sort of sold him as the Italian Stallion and he very much lived up to that name and he got very overexcited on the track, on the barn and everywhere to the extent where he was almost too dangerous. 'We hadn't even got to jumpouts and racing yet, so we hadn't even experienced tie-ups, the clerks of the course or anything like that. 'After about four weeks of training and giving him a good go as a colt, we decided we had to geld him.' The new version of Tempesti has impressed Cumani with his attitude in his two jumpouts and two races in his care. Tempesti was an easy winner at Group 2 level on a heavy track in Italy in 2023. Tempesti finished in the second half of the field at his Australian debut at Flemington in March but indicated his promise when running on well for third over 1800m at Sandown last month. Cumani said spacing Tempesti's runs was crucial to the six-year-old performing at his best, which meant bypassing a 2000m race at Flemington last Saturday to tackle Saturday's 1800m contest at Sandown. 'I actually thought his first run here in Australia was quite good, even if it didn't look visually impressive,' Cumani said. 'But if you look at the times, his finish was actually pretty good in a decent race. 'The only thing is that I would have loved to have stepped him up to 2000m in his next race but he's a horse that seems to thrive off not much racing. 'I didn't want to go two weeks into his next run, which was the 2000m at Flemington last weekend. 'But given he ran so well over 18 (00m), I was happy to give him another go at it' Cumani said he would like Tempesti to race 'a pair or two closer' to the lead from barrier six at Sandown. He added Tempesti could be competitive in minor stakes races over 2000m in the spring provided the Italian Group 2 winner gets conditions to suit. Tempesti is unbeaten in six starts on heavy ground in his homeland.
Sky News
23-04-2025
- Sky News
MMA fighter Pietro Menga jailed for 15 years for drugs and firearms offences
An MMA fighter known as the "Italian Stallion" has been jailed for 15 years and five months for drugs and firearms offences. Pietro Menga had a day job as an MMA fighter, even signing for UFC, but Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said he also had a "lucrative job as a middleman for an organised crime group". The force said Menga was involved in sourcing "large quantities of cocaine". On Tuesday, the former fighter was jailed after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons and conspiracy to supply cocaine. GMP officers became aware of Menga after the National Crime Agency infiltrated the once encrypted messaging platform EncroChat. The 37-year-old was identified through messages where he openly discussed his girlfriend, his knee injuries from fighting and his home gym. Under the username "wirelessshark", Menga also openly spoke about buying and selling drugs and guns. He was involved in an estimated sale of drugs worth between £490,000 to £620,000, police said. 'Always good for a rainy day' In one message, Menga refers to a Skorpion automatic machine gun as a "tastey [sic] bit of kit", adding the weapon was "always good for a rainy day". Officers discovered several similar conversations of this nature, with Menga trying to source guns for others. Menga was arrested on 15 January 2024. EncroChat crackdown Menga's arrest comes as part of GMP's response to the national takedown of EncroChat. It came under Operation Foam, which has seen more than 300 arrests, with more possible. GMP said it had arrested "kingpins", as well as "middle-tier criminals". Detective Constable Shiels from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group said: "The level that Menga operated at showed he clearly had an established list of criminal contacts, one which will have been built over several years under the radar, facilitated by the use of EncroChat."
Sky News
23-04-2025
- Sky News
Former UFC fighter Pietro Menga jailed for 15 years for drugs and firearms offences
A former UFC fighter known as the "Italian Stallion" has been jailed for 15 years and five months for drugs and firearms offences. Pietro Menga had a day job as a UFC fighter, but Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said he also had a "lucrative job as a middleman for an organised crime group". The force said Menga was involved in sourcing "large quantities of cocaine". On Tuesday, the former fighter was jailed after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons and conspiracy to supply cocaine. GMP officers became aware of Menga after the National Crime Agency infiltrated the once encrypted messaging platform EncroChat. The 37-year-old was identified through messages where he openly discussed his girlfriend, his knee injuries from fighting and his home gym. Under the username "wirelessshark", Menga also openly spoke about buying and selling drugs and guns. He was involved in an estimated sale of drugs worth between £490,000 to £620,000, police said. 'Always good for a rainy day' In one message, Menga refers to a Skorpion automatic machine gun as a "tastey [sic] bit of kit", adding the weapon was "always good for a rainy day". Officers discovered several similar conversations of this nature, with Menga trying to source guns for others. Menga was arrested on 15 January 2024. EncroChat crackdown Menga's arrest comes as part of GMP's response to the national takedown of EncroChat. It came under Operation Foam, which has seen more than 300 arrests, with more possible. GMP said it had arrested "kingpins", as well as "middle-tier criminals". Detective Constable Shiels from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group said: "The level that Menga operated at showed he clearly had an established list of criminal contacts, one which will have been built over several years under the radar, facilitated by the use of EncroChat."
