High Chaparral showed what a loss he will be to the New Zealand breeding industry when siring the trifecta in the $A1.5m ($NZ1.85m) AJC Derby at Randwick yesterday.
"It was an amazing feat, particularly as it's his first three-year-old crop here," said Mike Moroney, trainer of Monaco Consul, who finished third behind Shoot Out and former New Zealand galloper Descarado.
High Chaparral came to New Zealand's Windsor Park Stud as a shuttle stallion in 2006, returning the following year and 2009, but it was recently announced he would stand at Coolmore's New South Wales stud rather than continue in New Zealand.
His three-year-old crop has been exceptional, with Monaco Consul winning the Spring Champion Stakes and Victoria Derby, So You Think the Cox Plate and Shoot Out the Randwick Guineas before claiming yesterday's derby.
High Chaparral's sire Sadler's Wells also sired the trifecta twice in a classic race, when Montjeu won the 1999 Irish Derby from Daliapour and Tchaikovsky and when High Chaparral himself won the same race in 2002 from Sholokov and Ballingarry.
New Zealand's famous Sir Tristram sired the trifecta in the 1986 New Zealand Oaks, with Royal Heights winning from Empire Rose and Eau D'Etoile.
Moroney was delighted with turnaround in form of Monaco Consul, who raced erratically in New Zealand during the summer.
The colt powered home strongly to grab third, with the slow tempo not helping him.
"It was just a pity the pace in the race wasn't stronger as that would have suited him far more," Moroney said.
Monaco Consul was under threat of being gelded if he did not perform well yesterday, but he still has a potential future at stud. "He's safe for now," said Moroney.
"He wanted to lay out coming down the straight but he's a lot better back in Australia than he was in New Zealand."
The Queensland Derby is under consideration for Monaco Consul, but that will be subject to discussion with the colt's owners, said Moroney.
"We would like to concentrate on the Melbourne spring carnival and we will have to look at how Brisbane fits in to that."
The other two New Zealand-trained horses in the field disappointed.
Keep The Peace was well back early, made a brief dab but was flat in the run home, finishing 12th. That mystified trainer Shaune Ritchie, but he reported today the filly was showing signs of a cold, which would explain the lacklustre effort.
"She will go home for a spell now and we will nominate her for all the Melbourne races in the spring," said Ritchie.
Handsome Zulu ran on a little in the straight for 10th. It was his last run for trainer John Sargent as the horse is headed for a new stable in Hong Kong.
Harris Tweed rounded out his Sydney Cup preparation with a solid third in the group two Chairman's Handicap (2600m). Zabeel mare Jessicabeel won the race by two lengths from No Wine No Song, with Harris Tweed a head away third.
Cambridge trainer Murray Baker and jockey Michael Rodd were both pleased with Harris Tweed who ran a solid fifth in last year's Melbourne Cup over the 3200m of the Sydney Cup on April 24.
"He is on the right track and if we get wet ground, even better," Baker told AAP.
Adelaide Cup winner Capecover, formerly trained at Wanganui by Alexander Fieldes and now with Paddy Payne in Victoria, ran home strongly for fourth.
