Serepisos punched, kicked at races
BANKRUPT PROPERTY tycoon Terry Serepisos had to be carried out of the Trentham racecourse after fighting with another race-goer over comments about his lost fortune.
Serepisos, the former owner of the Wellington Phoenix football team who was declared bankrupt in 2011, fought with a man on the ground during the Wellington Cup meeting yesterday afternoon. During the scuffle, people yelled abuse at the men from a walkway above while several of Serepisos’ female companions screamed and swore at the man, who refused to give his name.
A security guard eventually separated the pair. Serepisos appeared disoriented after the fight and had to be supported by friends as he left.
Jim Flack, of Masterton, saw Serepisos on the ground surrounded by an ‘‘entourage’’ of women. ‘‘Someone had thumped him. He was looking really groggy and a bit dishevelled – tie askew, you know, not looking dapper at all.’’
It is understood the conflict started after Serepisos passed a woman seeking donations for Mary Potter Hospice. A man commented the woman should ‘‘know he [Serepisos] doesn’t have any money’’ and Serepisos took offence. Each man claimed the other started the fight.
Serepisos said that after telling the man that his comments ‘‘weren’t on’’, the man and four others jumped him, kicking him repeatedly in the head while he was on the ground. ‘‘I got kicked in the head by five guys. It was pretty bad, pretty horrendous.’’
The man – who had a swollen nose after the fight – said that after he made the comment, Serepisos ‘‘nutted off’’ and punched him in the face. He retaliated by tackling him and ‘‘finishing him off’’’.
Serepisos denied punching the man but said he found the comments offensive because he had just donated hundreds of dollars to the hospice.
‘‘I lost my brother to leukaemia and they looked after him in his last days. I have huge respect for them.’’
Upper Hutt area commander Inspector Mike Hall said he was aware of the fight but the police were not looking to charge anyone at this stage.