“It was good to get two winners down there and catch up with all my Melbourne friends and people I worked with last year, and to get one for Matthew Smith the other night at Canterbury was great,” he said.
“It’s been a good time. The weather has been good, I’ve met plenty of new people and learnt some things as well. I didn’t see any sights, though, just horses between the two ears.”
Browne McMonagle’s best chances on Saturday shape up as Gilded Water and Garza Blanca.
Gilded Water, owned by King Charles III, made his debut in Australia at Kembla’s The Gong meeting on November 23 and won the 2000m benchmark 78 by a half-length with a grinding effort down the straight under Jason Collett.
The Fastnet Rock four-year-old is the $2.40 Sportsbet favourite to repeat the result over 2400m in 78 grade on Saturday, despite carrying an extra three kilograms.
Englishman Tom Marquand, another to have success in Australia, rode Gilded Water in three of his four starts in Great Britain, and Browne McMonagle said he will seek him out for advice.
“He obviously looks like a horse with a profile that he’s only going to improve with time,” he said.
“It was good to get his head down the last time, so hopefully he’ll improve from that, and he can keep impressing. It’s really nice to ride in those colours, so hopefully we can get the job done for him.”
Maher expected Gilded Water to be even better over 2400m.
“He’s a progressive stayer, and I think he did a good job to win at a mile and a quarter, and he’ll be much better suited to the mile and a half, and beyond,” Maher said.
“He’s got to just learn his craft a bit; he’s still fairly green, and he’ll be acclimatising. Generally, the best time, if they can handle that, is when they are in work.
“It looks a nice race for him on Saturday.”
Garza Blanca is a $5 hope in the 1100m benchmark 94, after a last-start win in the listed Doveton Stakes at Caulfield.
“Ciaron’s been good enough to put me up on some of these horses that have got good chances, so hopefully we can produce the goods and have a good weekend and go off on a high,” Browne McMonagle said.
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Maher said the I Am Invincible five-year-old was headed to the $1 million Magic Millions Syndicate race on January 11 on the Gold Coast.
“I had it double entered for the weekend,” Maher said. “I opted, just because the weather is a bit iffy up there, just to keep him down here, and he’s in a good spot.”
Maher hoped to have Browne McMonagle back for a third stint.
“He’s a very good jockey, and I’m fortunate that he likes to come out here, because he’s had a pretty busy year,” he said. “He’s been a great asset to the stable.”
