Racing: Brave trotter carries hometown hopes

Stylish Monarch, driven by Ricky May, wins the Dominion Handicap at Addington in November. Photo / Simon Baker

Stylish Monarch will carry the ghosts of one of New Zealand's greatest racing regions with him tomorrow night.

The brave trotter could start favourite in the $200,000 Canam Rowe Cup at Alexandra Park, victory in which would guarantee him the national Trotter of the Year title.

But he is racing for much more than titles and money in the group one thriller. Because Stylish Monarch is reigniting racing interest in his hometown of Timaru.

The South Canterbury region is one of the most famous in New Zealand racing but as is the case in so many smaller towns, the local racing industry has stalled as former great trainers have retired.

In Timaru men like Pat Corboy, Maurice Jones and Richard Brosnan have been impossible to replace, marking a sad decline in local racing interest.

But it wasn't always like that.

This is, after all, the birthplace of the incomparable Phar Lap.

Add to his undying lustre names like Grey Way, Interdominion champion No Response and one of our greatest racemares in Bonnie's Chance and Timaru, or more precisely Washdyke, has a racing pedigree to be proud of.

But these days the young trainers are not coming through or have moved on, with Michael Daly the busiest thoroughbred trainer and Stylish Monarch's trainer Murray Tapper's 14-horse team the biggest harness stable.

"It is a bit of a shame because Timaru has always been a great racing town, especially when I was growing up," said Tapper.

"But the interest started to die out. You would still see people having a bet in the pub but nothing like what it used to be.

"But then our fella came along and that started to change. Now everywhere I go people ask about him, he gets good coverage in the paper. He has helped rekindle the interest."

Stylish Monarch has done that the hard way. He wasn't an age group star but simply a good, old-fashioned honest trotter who has got better with age, a triumph of willpower over speed.

"He is not the fastest, but not many try as hard," offers Tapper.

He won the NZ Trotting Champs last season and finished second in the Rowe Cup before ascending to the next level this term.

He beat arch-rival I Can Doosit in a national record Dominion Handicap, was a luckless third in the Interdom Final then extracted his revenge over I Can Doosit in the group one NZ Trotting Champs again last start.

He has barrier three tomorrow night and the manners and respect to use it.

"I'd like to see him in front, or maybe trailing Dr Hook and he will be hard to beat because he always is," said Tapper.

"He is an amazing horse because he tries so hard and never goes a bad race.

"He has only been further back than fifth once in his career left-handed and is now just as good right-handed.

"So we are all pretty excited, as are a lot of people from around here."

A former freezing worker, Tapper has been training professionally for seven years and says he sometimes struggles to believe how he is a now a player on the big stage.

"It's huge for us taking on the big names but I love it and I never worry because I know the horse won't let us down."

PRIDE OF TIMARU

* Stylish Monarch is the modern-day Timaru racing hero.
* The region is known as the home of Phar Lap and more recent greats like Grey Way and Bonnie's Chance.
* Interest in racing in the region has diminished in the last decade.
* Stylish Monarch can win Trotter of the Year in tomorrow night's Canam Rowe Cup.