A grey on holiday

Grey harness racing filly The Moonstone (Monkey Bones) is spelling at the moment and Cambridge trainer Nicky Chilcott says the exciting trotter will be back in the barn at the end of the month.

The two year old is not paid up for any Sires Stakes races and racing wise there’s not a lot on the radar for her in the next few months.

The Moonstone has won $22,700 this campaign and is at the top of the leader board for the $100,000 Group One Ace of Hearts at Addington on the 10th of December.

“We’re in quite a good position in the fact that we can just sit back and map a path,” Chilcott said. “There’s a race (North Island Trotting Championship) on the 14th of September so we’ll just target that. She’ll probably head south mid October and be down there until mid December. There’s a race (Canterbury Spa and Pool Two Year Old Trotting Fillies Classique) at Ashburton on 16th November which she is also eligible for.”

At her first start The Moonstone came from back in the field on a wet track to win by a nose. In her next race Chilcott took her to the lead and she won by one and three quarter lengths. In her final run of this campaign, she galloped before the field was dispatched but she headed to the lead. She was run down by We Can Have It All (Volstead) and was beaten by half a length.

“She did do a few things wrong at her last start but up until then she’s been pretty professional. She’s got a beautiful gait and pretty good manners. She’s an exciting filly moving forward.”

Bred by Barry Lichter and Donna Chisholm, The Moonstone is out of Landora’s Jewell (Earl) and is from a great family which stems back to Landora’s Pride (Game Pride). She won thirty four races including the Great Northern Trotting Derby, the Group One Dominion Handicap and the Rowe Cup.

“All Donna’s ever wanted was a grey. She told me it could be the slowest horse we’ve ever had as long as it was grey. I said ‘mate, you’re the luckiest person alive. You’ve got a grey one and a fast one.”

Chilcott said The Moonstone has been pretty easy to train all the way through.

“She had a great gait and just trots with no glitches. At the end of the day babies have got to have a good gait and a good head as well. She’s got both. Every time we asked her to go a bit quicker she did everything in her stride. You’d look at her now and think she was a three year old colt, not a two year old filly. She’s very mature, so that’s gotta help. “

And although she’s grey, Chilcott accepts she’s likely to ‘rinse’ out a bit more.

“I was talking to Steve Cornwell at the races the other night who races grey trotter Tobruk (Monkey Bones). He told me my filly will go white. He said Tobruk started off black, then he went charcoal and now he’s ghost white. I kinda like the colour she is at the moment.”

Chilcott has been in harness racing for a good number of years and it’s obvious she’s genuinely excited about her young trotter.

“I love anything that can run fast and I do love my trotters. She’s a bit special.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink