Bargain Purchase Monbaher Triumphs in Torney Cup (L.)

Given a peach of a ride by Craig Newitt, the bargain-priced European import Monbaher (IRE) made his first attempt at stakes level count in Friday night’s Listed PKF Torney Night Cup (2500m) at Moonee Valley.

The sparingly raced, Matt Cumani-trained 6-year-old gelding was making his third run back after an injury-enforced layoff of 78 weeks after winning at Flemington in July 2022.

The son of the Group 1 winning Oasis Dream stallion Muhaarar needed every yard of the 2500m to run down the game Japanese-bred gelding Mystery Island (JPN) (Victoire Pisa) with Amade (IRE) (Casamento) back in third.

Twice a winner at Doncaster, when trained by John & Thady Gosden, Monbaher’s stakes breakthrough advances his record to five wins, two seconds, and two thirds from 14 starts with earnings of $298,159.

A 360,000 gns Shadwell purchase at the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Monbaher (IRE) was bought by Badgers Bloodstock for 45,000 gns at the 2021 Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale.

He is the best of four winners from as many to race for the winning Sea The Stars mare Seagull, a three-quarter sister to Group 1 Irish One Thousand Guineas winner Nightime, the dam of Darley Stud’s 4-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath (IRE), Fastnet Rock’s Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes heroine Zhukova (IRE), and the stakes-placed Mermaid Island (IRE) the dam of the Listed Laelia Stakes winner Ondina (Manhattan Rain).