It took Monton 12 months to the day to break a drought of outs but it would be surprising if another win is not close judging on his Listed Blackwoods Festival Stakes (1500m) effort at Rosehill.
Monton had eight unsuccessful runs since winning a benchmark 95 Hcp at the same meet last year but that was forgotten when he added more black-type to his CV today.
Apprentice Sam Clipperton rode a perfect race reminiscent of the horse’s trainer and former great jockey Ron Quinton.
Matthew Cahill set a steady speed in front aboard Viva Las with old-timer Mentality on his outside.
Kontiki Park was caught three wide without cover while race favourite King Lionheart was well positioned fourth.
Monton was behind the leader but Clipperton was happy to stay a few lengths off its rump.
Coming to the home turn Clipperton pulled Monton off the fence pushing King Lionheart out of the way.
That horse disappointingly gave in quickly.
The race positions in the race didn’t alter much in the straight except for Monton who finished to well and Lightinthenite.
The latter settled alongside Monton but was left flat-footed at the top of the straight.
Josh Adams, on Lightinthenite, followed Clipperton through and then tried to get to his outside at the 250m.
Though making gradual ground Monton held him off well with Viva Las holding on for third.
Quinton was proud of the horse and his apprentice.
“Not an easy job for the lad, one alley helped him,” Quinton said.
“But for a kid going to ride a horse like him, he is not an easy horse to ride, he rode it a peach.
“It is the best the horse ever paraded since I had him, he remained cool, calm and collected and raced accordingly.
“I think we will set him for the Villiers Stakes.”
The three kilogram claiming apprentice Clipperton was all smiles after the race.
“It was a big thrill,” Clipperton said.
“He was always travelling and when the opportunity presented itself I pushed out and he tried all the way to the line,
“I probably would have liked to have held him up a bit longer, as he is a horse you have to nurse, but when the opportunity came I jumped at it.”
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | MONTON | Ron Quinton | Sam Clipperton (a) | 1 | 55.5kg | $16 | |
| 2 | 15 | LIGHTINTHENITE | John O’Shea | Josh Adams (a) | 0.5L | 9 | 53kg | $7 |
| 3 | 14 | VIVA LAS | Neville & Christopher Voigt | Mathew Cahill | 1.3L | 2 | 53kg | $26 |
| 4 | 6 | MENTALITY | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Jay Ford | 1.8L | 13 | 54kg | $51 |
| 5 | 7 | FIBRILLATION | Tim Martin | Blake Spriggs (a) | 3.4L | 7 | 53kg | $13 |
| 6 | 3 | ALTERED BOY | Chris Waller | Adam Hyeronimus (a) | 3.6L | 10 | 54.5kg | $21 |
| 7 | 1 | KING LIONHEART | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 3.7L | 4 | 58kg | $3.50F |
| 8 | 13 | WITHOUT COMPROMISE | Kevin Moses | Shaun Guymer (a) | 4.3L | 6 | 53kg | $26 |
| 9 | 11 | CIRCLE OF POWER | Rod Craig | Christian Reith | 4.9L | 5 | 53kg | $8.50 |
| 10 | 5 | ALEXANDER OF HALES (USA) | Chris Waller | Ms Kathy O’Hara | 5.2L | 16 | 54kg | $31 |
| 11 | 9 | LEBRECHAUN | Matthew Dale | Peter Robl | 5.5L | 11 | 53kg | $16 |
| 12 | 8 | MISS KEEPSAKE (NZ) | Joseph Pride | Nathan Berry | 6.7L | 3 | 53kg | $16 |
| 13 | 4 | TROMSO | Chris Waller | Daniel Ganderton | 8.5L | 15 | 54.5kg | $15 |
| 14 | 16 | CHATEAU FORT | Paul Messara | Jeff Penza | 13.8L | 12 | 53kg | $31 |
| 15 | 12 | KIMBERLEY KID | David Payne | Chad Schofield (a) | 14.2L | 8 | 53kg | $21 |
| 16 | 10 | KONTIKI PARK (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | Tommy Berry | 16.4L | 14 | 53kg | $9 |
