Monaco leaves Moroney in the dark

Herald Sun, Matt Stewart

TRAINER Mike Moroney had expected Saturday's 2000m Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie to shed some light on Monaco Consul.

Instead, Moroney is more in the dark.

At his first serious test against older horses at weight-for-age, Moroney had hoped Monaco Consul would win or at least run well and prove a serious racehorse rather than a typically average Victoria Derby winner.

From the moment the barriers opened at Ellerslie, Moroney and jockey Corey Brown knew it wouldn't be the Derby winner's day. The favourite ran 10th of 12, 12 lengths from winner Vosnee Romanee, prompting both jockey and trainer to blame either the firm track or an as-yet undetected injury.

"Corey walked the track before the race and said it was the hardest track he'd ever seen," Moroney said from New Zealand. "When they get firm over here, they get really firm. They stopped watering on Thursday, which has caused a bit of angst among trainers."

Brown told Moroney that Monaco Consul, whose target race is the New Zealand Derby in March, was never comfortable.

"Corey said that 100m after he jumped he wanted to lug out. He couldn't get around the corners at all," Moroney said. "He gave him one slap in the straight, the horse didn't respond."

Moroney said Monaco Consul was being monitored by the stable vet. "We've got five weeks until his next race so we won't panic just yet," he said.