KEY POINTS:
Lord Monty had every excuse if he had been beaten in the $125,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton, but somebody forgot to tell the 8-year-old not to compete.
2007 has been a busy period for the Peter McKenzie-trained star, which has had 14 starts, racing on the West Coast, Riccarton, Trentham, Te Rapa and on the Gold Coast in Australia.
After a hectic five-race campaign in Australia throughout June and July, it would have been understandable had Lord Monty arrived at Riccarton Park tired and uninterested in racing.
However, he was in ruthless form yesterday, jumping straight to the front and relishing the heavy track conditions sweeping wide on the home turn before powering clear to win by 10 1/2 lengths.
Star O'The Ball ran on solidly to finish second, a further half-length clear of the third placed Final Reality.
Lord Monty hit the finishing line with ears pricked and jockey David Walsh had plenty of restrained equine horsepower underneath him.
It was hard to believe that New Zealand's premier winter 1600m racehorses were overpowered in such dynamic fashion by a front-running 8-year-old.
"I was certain three weeks ago that he was going to be tough to beat in this race and everything fell into place nicely," said Walsh afterwards.
Walsh and McKenzie must now decide if they will start Lord Monty in the $55,000 Winter Classic on the course next Saturday.
Racing at Riccarton was called off early because of bad light - something usually associated with the summer sport of cricket.
The final event was abandoned by chief stipendiary steward Cameron George after several earlier discussions with senior jockeys.
George did no hesitate with his decision when it was discovered six horses had been positioned in the wrong stalls and they would have to be reloaded, thus further delaying the running of the final event.
Former New Zealand Jockeys' Association president Paul Taylor was fuming. Taylor, who was to have ridden in the race, said it should never had been timed for a 5.03pm start.
He said jockeys had tried to warn the TAB of the dangers of having late starts in winter, after there was similar concerns about bad light for a race at Matamata last month which went ahead.
Stitched recorded a pleasing trial for next Saturday's Grand National Steeplechase when winning yesterday's NZI Koral Steeplechase.
The Allan Sharrock-trained jumper settled off the speed during the early part of the 4150m feature and swept up quickly on the home turn, scoring by two lengths over the favourite Gauchito Bastado. A further 1 1/4 lengths away third was Tahiti Gold.
