Hopes pull pin on Monbet

Champion trotter Monbet has suffered a further setback in his attempt to return the race track forcing him from defending his Dominion Handicap crown at Cup week in Christchurch.

The Canterbury square-gaiter was due to have a workout at Ashburton on Tuesday, but a knee issue cropped up late last week and that plan has been abandoned.

He will now miss most of the summer racing schedule, says his co-trainer and co-owner, Greg Hope. Oddly enough, Hope described the results of scans this morning as ‘‘good news’’.

‘‘He had just been offloading from the knee they took the chips out of and on Friday that other knee blew up.

‘‘As it’s transpired he’s burst a blood vessel and we feel a lot better having learnt that as we were worried it was something worse.

‘‘But it’s just been one little thing after another with him this time in and we’ve decided to pull the pin on Cup week and the summer.’’

Monbet, the two-time and

‘‘It’s just been one little thing after another with him this time in and we’ve decided to pull the pin on Cup week and the summer.’’

Co-trainer, co-owner Greg Hope

reigning New Zealand Trotter of the Year, has not raced since winning the Dominion Handicap at Addington on November 11 last year.

He was diagnosed with bone chips in a knee less than a month later and was operated on to remove it.

Hope and wife Nina brought the grouse son of Love You up slowly through the winter in an effort to best aid his chances of a smooth return to racing.

He recently suffered a minor setback when some heat showed in a front leg which scans later revealed to be aggravation of scar tissue from a minor injury he suffered as a three-year-old.

That same knee that was operated on will now be the focus of a relatively new scientific process.

‘‘We are going to do a stem cell transplant on the knee and that will hopefully repair that cartilage that has been missing since he was operated on.

‘‘It will mean he has a couple of months out at least but we haven’t given up hope of perhaps having him back and going in time for the Rowe Cup later in the season.’’

Monbet’s record is unmatched by any trotter currently racing in New Zealand. He has won 17 of his last 19 starts and 10 of his 23 career wins have come at Group 1 level for stakes in excess of $770,000.

For what it’s worth, Hope believes Monbet was coming up as good as ever this time in and has not lost any of his ability.

‘‘He was training super and I had really been happy with him. He was going as good as, if not better than, the same time last year.

‘‘But he’s only young for a trotter (six) and we don’t want to rush him.