Target; Makarewa Monarch is a leading chance in Saturday night's $20k Jim McNeil Memorial Trotting Championship Final at Albion Park. Photo by Dan Costello
Months of meticulous planning will be tested this weekend.
The $20,000 Jim McNeil Memorial Trotting Championship Final is the feature event at Albion Park on Saturday night and New Zealand bred mare Makarewa Monarch looms as a legitimate chance.
Prepared by former Victorian horseman Matt Purcell, the well-travelled mare has thrived under his tutelage in the sunshine state and her biggest payday appears close-by.
“This is her moment to shine, we’ve been planning for this race for some time now and everything is in readiness. She’s fit and ready to go while her form reads as well as any in this field so let’s hope we have a little luck going our way.” Purcell said.
Purcell urged stable clients to purchase the Monarchy mare after watching her perform via SKY one day and immediately sent the mare to Sydney to kick-start her Australian career.
But the plan backfired and the mare didn’t settle in Sydney despite several stable changes, erratic behavior and silly mistakes proved costly before Purcell decided to bring his latest acquisition north where he trains her himself.
The move has paid dividends, Purcell worked closely with the headstrong mare and ironed out those little chinks that caused her grief in Sydney and now has the mare trotting more smoothly and fluently.
In 10 starts to date in Brisbane, Makarewa Monarch has missed a place only three times and on two occasions, errors were made.
Both career wins to date have come via Albion Park.
“It hasn’t been easy with this mare and we’ve had a few moments together since she arrived up here but I think the penny is starting to drop with her now. Obviously maturity has played a role but I don’t think I’ve done anything special with her to turn the form around, she's trained out of a paddock nowadays and I make sure a chiropractor looks at her regularly and that seems to make her happy.
“I liked what I saw on TV that day and I knew she had ability and as long as I keep her healthy and happy, I’m sure we can return to Sydney to tackle some metropolitan racing. That’s the plan anyway and victory on the weekend is a big step forward in achieving that goal.”
On Saturday night, Makarewa Monarch will start from a 20m handicap in the 2647m contest while impressive heat performers Justabitnoisy (10m) and Johnny Springfield (40m) loom as the main stumbling blocks.
Makarewa Monarch finished 6th in the opening round heat behind Johnny Springfield two weeks ago before running a much sharper 3rd in the second round of heats last week.
“I knew she would need the run in the first heat because she was on the fresh side and a little big because I freshened her up with this series in mind a few months back. I only gave her a quiet trial in lead-up to the series.
“The effort in the next round of heats was much better and it gave me confidence for the final, both Justabitnoisy and Johnny Springfield are clearly the horses to beat on what we’ve seen through the heats but I’m sure my mare can test them with luck.
“Many of these trotters are going to a distance that is a little foreign to them and my mare is no different but I’m confident she’ll run it no problem. I think my biggest asset is her speed, she’s very quick with point to point speed and as long as I can get some cover, we’ll be hard to hold out.”
Makarewa Monarch is raced by Purcell’s wife Tracey along with Pat De Francesco and Phiv Demetriou.
Purcell is based at Deception Bay on Brisbane’s north side and is currently working a team of 11 horses with a view to expanding a little more.
Other handy performers from the stable include Isaac and Fearless Leader, both of which also start this Saturday night.
