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Alexandra Park (NZ)
For the last eighteen months, Stent has ruled the Australasian trotting scene but in the last two months he has lost his crown to a young harness racing four-year- old called Monbet...read on
Open Trot 2.700 m auto Purse: $80 000
| Plc | Bk | Horse | Barrier | Hcap | Stakes | Fav | Time | Margin | Driver | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Monbet | 11 | fr | 43,400.00 | 1/1 | 3-22.9 | R T May | G P & Mrs N M Hope | |
| 2 | 3 | Speeding Spur | 3 | fr | 13,888.00 | 2/3 | 3-23.5 | 2.90 | J I Dickie | J W Dickie & J I Dickie |
| 3 | 1 | One Over Da Moon | 1 | fr | 6,944.00 | 6/8 | 3-23.5 | 3.00 | A G Herlihy MNZM | A G Herlihy MNZM |
| 4 | 4 | Stent | 4 | fr | 3,472.00 | 3/2 | 3-23.6 | 3.30 | C J DeFilippi | C J & J DeFilippi |
| 5 | 13 | Alley Way | 13 | fr | 1,736.00 | 7/7 | 3-24.0 | 5.50 | M J Williamson | C J & J DeFilippi |
| 6 | 8 | Quite A Moment | 8 | fr | 1,320.00 | 9/10 | 3-24.2 | 6.20 | G D O'Reilly | G P & Mrs N M Hope |
| 7 | 5 | Sheemon | 5 | fr | 1,320.00 | 4/4 | 3-24.3 | 6.60 | D J Dunn | K D Townley |
| 8 | 9 | Whitney | 9 | fr | 1,320.00 | 13/12 | 3-24.4 | 7.30 | J A MacKinnon (J) | R J Dunn |
| 9 | 6 | Al Bundy | 6 | fr | 1,320.00 | 10/11 | 3-24.6 | 8.10 | D J Butcher | P T & V P Blanchard |
| 10 | 10 | Prime Power | 10 | fr | 1,320.00 | 11/6 | 3-24.7 | 8.70 | T W Mitchell | T W Mitchell |
| 11 | 7 | Charlemagne | 7 | fr | 1,320.00 | 12/13 | 3-26.8 | 19.20 | P A Butcher | C J Butler |
| Disq | 2 | Prince Fearless | 2 | fr | 1,320.00 | 5/5 | 3-24.0 | 5.30 | Mark Purdon | M Purdon & Ms N C Rasmussen |
| Pup | 12 | Valmagne | 12 | fr | 1,320.00 | 8/9 | B N Orange | C L E & J L E Kennett |
Trainer: G P & Mrs N M Hope
Owner: G P Hope, Mrs N M Hope, M J Molloy
Breeder: G P & Mrs N M Hope
For the last eighteen months, Stent has ruled the Australasian trotting scene but in the last two months he has lost his crown to a young harness racing four-year- old called Monbet.
The son of Love You has thrilled crowds at both Addington and Alexandra Park with displays of raw speed seldom seen in a trotter in this part of the world.
Today he added a staying componet to his reportire as he again put the best trotters in New Zealand to the sword in the $80,000 National FFA Trot.
Ducking a couple of galloping horses early from his second line draw, Monbet settled in the one by one running line early before driver Ricky May set him alight at the 1400 metres mark to burst forward and grab the lead off Stent.
Attacked a couple of times during the last round, Monbet simply ran away and hid when Ricky asked him for an effort on the corner.
Monbet won easing down by 2 3/4 lengths with Ricky hardly moving in the bike.
Speeding Spur got home well from three back on the inner to grab second in front of a game One Over Da moon with Stent a disappointing fourth.
A minor highlight of the race was the performance of Prince Fearless who after galloping wildly early and settling a long way from them, was three wide for most of the last lap and stuck on well for a great fifth.
It was Monbet's thirtenth win at just his twenty third start and took his earnings over the $270,000 mark.
Monbet trotted the 2700 metres in 3:22.9, a mile rate of 2:00.9 with closing sectionals of 56.6 and 27.5.
Ricky May was all smiles when he came back to the winners circle.
" He did that really easy to be honest."
" He is really so much more settled this season.
" Those couple of breakers around him early didn't affect him at all."
" Once he got to the front, I was really confident they wouldn't beat him."
" He is clearly the top trotter in New Zealand at the moment," Ricky said.
Trained by Greg and Nina Hope, Australians will get to see Monbet later in the season when he heads over for the Southern Star.
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