NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Racing

Racing: Monbet on way to doing a Winx

Michael Guerin
By Michael Guerin
Racing Editor·NZ Herald·
9 May, 2017 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Monbet (left, 12) grabs the first leg of his double at Addington in November. Photo / NZ Racing Desk

Monbet (left, 12) grabs the first leg of his double at Addington in November. Photo / NZ Racing Desk

New Zealand's greatest trotter will try to emulate Australia's champion galloper Winx.

Which means you might see less of Monbet than you expect next season, but he will be around for a lot longer.

Monbet hasn't raced since setting a national record winning the Dominion at Addington in November, with an operation to remove bone chips soon after ruining his season.

Remarkably those three starts alone will almost certainly see him win NZ Trotter of the Year again at the national awards come July, especially as two of his wins were at group one level and the other at group three.

Monbet's record in the last two seasons is jaw-dropping, having won 14 of his last 15 starts, 12 of those at group level, with his sole defeat coming when he galloped in a race at Melton.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The winner of $770,714 he only has to stay sound to become a rarity in this part of the world - a trotting millionaire.

And trainer Greg Hope has a plan for how he is going to achieve that.

Hope and wife Nina welcomed Monbet back into work last week and couldn't be happier with the sleek son of French stallion Love You.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He looks great and all the vet reports are telling us the right things," Hope said. "He ended up having two chips taken out of his knee but the joints are really healthy and we have had x-rays and a lot of tests on that area done.

"He looks big and strong so it is back to work now."

But back to work won't mean a huge workload as the Hopes are thinking quality, not quantity, with the rising six-year-old.

"I'd like to think we could have him for another two, maybe three seasons at least," he says of the gelding.

Discover more

Racing

Piccadilly Princess in battle to make Jewels

08 May 05:00 PM
Racing

Myers leading vendor at Karaka sale

09 May 05:00 PM
Racing

Connections praying for change of luck

09 May 05:00 PM
Racing

Racing: Derby hopefuls travel well

10 May 05:00 PM

"But I don't want to over-race him and he doesn't need to be in every dogfight.

"So he might only have six or eight starts a season from now on. You see that with a lot of the really good gallopers, like Winx, they are set for the best races and don't have long campaigns.

"And he is the sort of horse who could do that too because he comes to hand quite quickly.

"So he might not even race until the Cup carnival at Addington, have two runs there and then head to Auckland at Christmas."

That would suggest four races, five at most, for Monbet this year all going well while the second half of next season could be restricted to focusing on the NZ Trot Champs, Anzac Cup and Rowe Cup.

The question would be whether the Hopes wanted to add in a one-race Australian campaign aimed at the revamped Great Southern Star, which is now a one-off race at Melton.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That would be a far easier work rate than the usual open class trotters, who are often the iron horses of racing and can easily top 20 starts for the season.

This season alone Monbet's group one-winning stablemate Quite A Moment had 16 starts, while another group one winning mare Sunny Ruby had 22. And open class journeyman Valmagne has had 31 starts this term with more to come.

The return of Monbet and his also injured arch rival Speeding Spur up against a talented four-year-old crop headed by Marcoola, Temporale, Lemond and Wilma's Mate would see some real depth to the elite trotting ranks next season.

Meanwhile, the Hopes are thrilled with how three-year-old Enghien has returned from his Northern Derby winning campaign and say he is thriving as he aims at four more major races this season.

"The trip away has been great for him and he will go to the Sales Series at Addington next week before the Jewels. And he will keep going for the Victoria Derby and Breeders Crown in Australia."

Mighty Monbet

• 34 starts, 23 wins, five placings.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

• Stakes: $770,714

• Group one wins: Dominion, Rowe Cup, NZ Free-For-All (twice), Anzac Cup, NZ Trot Champs, 2-y-o Jewels, 4-y-o Jewels, Australian Trotting Champs, National Trot.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Racing

Racing

International rider wins again as he makes his mark in Central Districts

17 May 05:00 PM
Racing

Do You Just starts the corks popping with Ellerslie stroll

17 May 05:26 AM
Racing

Velocious gets ideal opportunity to make up for lost season

16 May 05:00 PM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Racing

International rider wins again as he makes his mark in Central Districts

International rider wins again as he makes his mark in Central Districts

17 May 05:00 PM

A Brazilian who met a Kiwi in Singapore is our latest riding star.

Do You Just starts the corks popping with Ellerslie stroll

Do You Just starts the corks popping with Ellerslie stroll

17 May 05:26 AM
Velocious gets ideal opportunity to make up for lost season

Velocious gets ideal opportunity to make up for lost season

16 May 05:00 PM
Wynyard chasing Champagne success

Wynyard chasing Champagne success

15 May 05:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP