Racing: Reid loses Monkey King as partnership ends

One of harness racing's most successful partnerships ended at Alexandra Park last night.

Trainer Steven Reid and his one-time biggest owner Robert Famularo have gone their separate ways.

The split comes at a time when Reid is now heavily involved in a two-stable training operation with Graeme Rogerson.

And Famularo has decided to base most of his horses, including open class star Monkey King, in the South Island.

That means last night's Auckland Cup was Reid's last race with the horse he won numerous open class races and nearly $1 million in stakemoney with.

While Famularo had reduced the number of horses he had with Reid in the last few years, with many pre-training in the South Island, the partnership was still one of the most feared in harness racing.

Monkey King and Tennis Ball will now be trained by Brendon Hill, while Todd Mitchell will take over four racehorses owned by Famularo who will stay in the north.

Just how amicable the split was depended on whom you asked last night.