Bendigo trainer Tim Fitzsimmons came home from the Goulburn Valley with some silverware last weekend after Black Storm was successful in the Tatura Cup.
The ex-Singapore galloper looks to have made substantial improvement into his second Australian preparation, with Saturday’s performance coming first up from a spell over the 1450-metre trip. 
Black Storm had a fruitful campaign last time in, with two wins and three placings from six starts. A positive jumpout at Avoca meant that punters gave him plenty of respect and he started well in the market as a $3.90 second favourite. 
Teo Nugent gave a great steer, getting the run of the race in the one-out/one-back position. Black Storm showed a sharp turn of foot to run down $3.70 favourite Porter in the concluding stages. 
The six-year-old Caravaggio gelding looks like he is still on the up, having now fully acclimatised to Australian conditions. Fitzsimmons should be able to target off-season Saturday-class city races in the coming weeks. 
It’s been a big couple of weeks for the stable, Fitzsimmons having recently acquired Geelong and Moonee Valley Cup winner Onesmoothoperator from the stable of Brian Ellison, with whom he has a long-standing relationship. 
The Tatura Cup win was part of a winning double for Fitzsimmons, with Marty McFly taking out the 1000-metre benchmark 56 on the day. 
They were two of three winners at Tatura for Bendigo-based trainers, with Elle Mcfearsome winning in 0-56 grade for Aileen Vanderfeen.