Monarch Chimes seeking Great Northern Hurdle glory
THE training partnership of Emma-Lee and David Browne have every reason to be excited about the chances of Monarch Chimes in Saturday’s $125,000 Great Northern Hurdle at Ellerslie.
The six-year-old gelding has turned a solid flat career into a flourishing jumps season which has included three consecutive and unbeaten wins over the hurdles.
Since having its first jumping trial at Cambridge in June, Monarch Chimes has since scored three impressive victories which included the Premier Harrison Lane Hurdle at Ellerslie last start where it had to recoup after hitting the last jump.
The son of Shinko King showed its toughness on that occasion and now the biggest test awaits this Saturday in the Great Northern over 4190m where it will likely start as the favourite with bookmakers in New Zealand and Australia.
“He’s come through that Ellerslie run well,” co-trainer Emma-Lee Browne told Horsebetting.com.au. “He’s always shown that he can stay.”
It has been a long-term plan for Browne to get Monarch Chimes over the jumps and it’s a plan that is paying off with big dividends.
“We spoke to the owners about a year or two ago and we said we could get him over the jumps,” she said. “This season we thought we’d start schooling him and give him a trial and he’s done everything so well.”
Its 3.25-length win at Rotorua on July 29 signalled its winter jumping intentions and Browne can’t quite believe how much progress the six-year-old gelding has made in such a short time.
“He’s doing everything so easily and he’s loved it,” Browne said. “I was shocked at how well he’s done given that he’s young and not as experienced as some of the others.”
Having good speed on the flat is key to winning hurdle races in New Zealand and win two wins and nine placings under its belt on the flat circuit, Monarch Chimes isn’t lacking in that area.
It had the race parcelled up at Ellerslie last start after bursting to the front, but clipping the last hurdle made life interesting as El Corby closed, but its superior flat speed kicked in once again.
“He’s shown good speed on the flat and he also jumps quite well,” Browne said. “He actually took off around the turn quite quickly… I think that surprised the jockey with his turn-of-foot.”
Heavy rain has hit the Auckland region over the last week and more is expected later this week, but the deep conditions won’t bother Monarch Chimes.
“The whole way through his career we had him as a winter galloper,” Browne said. “He’s always performed best on a wet track so that won’t bother him.”
With the jumping season almost at a close, Browne hasn’t made any confirmed plans of where next to head to, but Australia could be on the cards next year.
“At this stage we’ll see how he gets through Saturday,” she said. “As to what he does next – probably long term we’d be looking at stepping up in the bigger races and Australia is definitely something we’d look at.”