This season’s staying sensation Mr Monaco is steadfastly favoured to provide Ciaron Maher with his fourth Sydney Cup despite pulling the extreme outside post.
That said, a fellow stable runner could derail those plans, courtesy of the robust profiles held by Piggyback and Juja Kibo in the two-mile feature.
A recent European recruit midway through his Australian tenure, Mr Monaco has shown resolve and depth with punishing triumphs at his prior two appearances, most memorably the Manion Cup (2400m) navigating wide trails yet delivering decisive blows.
Sydney foreman Jo Gerard-Dubord for Maher sees positives for the gelding staying 3200m on Saturday, taking cues from Circle Of Fire’s 2024 Sydney Cup conquest from an akin starting position.
“When Circle Of Fire won it, he had a similar trip to what Mr Monaco did at Rosehill last start. He was three-wide and working a lot of the way,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“And not dissimilar to Mr Monaco, Circle Of Fire was a genuine stayer. When you get to these races, if you can stay it’s a big advantage because half the field won’t be able to stay the trip.”
Lacking a 3200m run on record, Gerard-Dubord harbours no worries over Mr Monaco’s range, given his closing strength after a testing passage recently.
“Last start, even though it was 2400 metres, he was wide, and he probably ran 2600. If anything, he was the strongest of them all through the line so that won’t be an issue,” he said.
Piggyback wrapped her lead-up in the Tancred Stakes (2400m), running fifth to winner Aeliana in a weight-for-age assignment set to peak her for the main event.
She has reportedly strengthened this campaign, per Gerard-Dubord, positioning her nicely to complete the course with 53kg.
“She’s been handicapped at what she was at the start of the prep, and I think she has become a better horse since then. She is very well placed at the weights,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“The Tancred is usually a good lead-up run for the Sydney Cup in terms of timing and the quality of the field, and she was very good in the Tancred.
“The two miles, I think she will stay it, and she’s had the grounding for it, but it is more of a question mark. She is fit, she has a light weight and a good gate, so she will get every chance to run the trip.”
The Maher trio is completed by Juja Kibo, whose consistent minor results reflect a horse Gerard-Dubord says demands racing to prime fully.
“He is a horse who takes a lot of work and a lot of racing,” he said.
“It has been the target from day one, the Sydney Cup, and the plan was to run in the Chairman’s and back up in the Sydney Cup. He backed up well last prep (when third in the Metropolitan).
“The other day, he lacked that killer punch, but I think it was related to fitness, and he’s rock-hard fit now.”
Markets keep Mr Monaco at $5 supremacy, Juja Kibo $13 and Piggyback $18 outsiders.
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