First Stakes Winner for Monaco Consul

Seven years after earning a career-defining victory in the Victoria Derby, Kingstar Farm's Monaco Consul received a huge boost his stallion career when his daughter Tiamo Grace dominated Saturday's $300,000 Group II Mumm Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

In becoming her sires first stakes winner, Tiamo Grace will now likely attempt to go one better than Monaco Consul's first crop daughter Honesta who finished second to the outstanding Jameka in last year's Group 1 Victoria Crown Oaks.

Ridden by Damian Lane for champion trainer Darren Weir, Tiamo Grace was sent off a well-backed second favourite on the strength of a luckless second in the Group III Ethereal Stakes at Caulfield at her most recent start.

Lane managed to find the back of the favourite Sebring Dream turning into the home stretch and proved much the stronger in the finish to defeat the game Sebring Dream by one and a quarter lengths with Missrock one and a half lengths back in third. (photo Grant Courtney).

The 3yo filly had been beaten at Murtoa and Swan Hill before her success in the Wakeful, which was not missed by the winning rider.

"A classic D Weir operation, they start out in the bush and build some confidence, and when he brings them to town you know they're ready and she showed that last start," Lane said.

"There was some talk before the raced that she might not go there (Crown Oaks), we'll see what the camp has to say, but off that  win it would be very hard not to take her there.

Jeremy Rogers, stable representative for Darren Weir, said that the filly will be monitored over the coming days to determine whether she progresses to the Oaks.

"She's a really, nice progressive filly and she was beautifully ridden by Damian," Rogers said.

"He had her nice and relaxed in a lovely spot and as soon as he let her loose at the top of the straight, she did the rest.

"I think today was her long-term goal but we'll just see how she is over the next few days before deciding if to push on to Thursday, or put her back into the paddock and come back for the autumn.

"At home she's always shown she's a nice filly and kept improving with everything we've asked her to do."

From the second crop of Monaco Consul, Tiamo Grace is another inspired selection by Darren Weir Racing / John Foote Bloodstock who paid $50,000 to secure the filly out of the Hillside Thoroughbreds at the second session of the 2015 Inglis Premier Yearling sale.

She is the fourth foal of the imported Anabaa mare Sicile (FR).

A placegetter at Deauville, Sicile (FR) is a half-sister to dual Group III winner Common World (Spinning World) and the Listed winner Speciale (War Chant).

Sun Bloodstock purchased Sicile's colt by Medaglia d'Oro (USA), who has been named Zhang Fei, for $280,000 at this year's Inglis Premier Yearling sale.
Sicile has a yearling filly by So You Think.

Now standing at Matthew Sandblom's Kingstar Farm, the Group 1 Victoria Derby and Group 1 Champion Stakes winner Monaco Consul (High Chaparral) is standing at a fee of $6,600.