Horse Racing

Michael Moroney is hoping his top 2010 Melbourne Cup chance Monaco Consul will improve second-up this Saturday when the four-year-old runs in the Group 2 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.

A son of High Chaparral, Monaco Consul resumed racing a fortnight ago in the Group 2 JJ Liston Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, finishing a solid sixth to spring star Shoot Out.

Monaco Consul has won three of their 12 career starts to date already having earned in excess of $1.27 million in stakes, becoming a dual Group 1 winner last year after claiming victory in the Spring Champion Stakes and the Victoria Derby during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Moroney is confident the Kiwi-bred galloper can rise to top form in time for the 150^th Melbourne Cup on Tuesday November 2 starting with the Makybe Diva Stakes on Saturday.

Monaco Consul is sure to be one of the top fancies at Sportsbet for the Makybe Diva Stakes as he is primed to improve after his first-up run in the Liston and will appreciate the step-up in distance to 1600m.

Many of the season’s top runners and fellow Melbourne Cup bound gallopers will line-up in the Makybe Diva Stakes including last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Shocking and Chris Waller’s recent Warwick Stakes winner Metal Bender.

Currently leading online bookmaker Sportsbet has Monaco Consul at $31 to win the 2010 Melbourne Cup, worth a record $6 million this year.

Moroney is hoping Monaco Consul will receive a weight of around 54.5kg when the handicaps for the 2010 Melbourne Cup are released tomorrow, which is the weight 2008 Victoria Derby winner Rebel Raider received for last year’s Melbourne Cup.

A win or even a place in Saturday’s Makybe Diva Stakes is sure to see Monaco Consul’s price shorten in the early Melbourne Cup betting markets, so now is the time to get onto the lucrative odds at Sportsbet.

Offering better odds than the TAB, Sportsbet is the choice for smart punters that want to win big this spring!