Chris Munce: Champion Australian Jockey - By: K Cummings

In 1984, at the age of 15, Chris Munce landed in Brisbane where he was hired by trainer Eric Kirwan.

He made his presence felt within two years when he posted a victory on Voyager in the Sunshine Coast.

Munce won his first major race, the Magic Millions aboard Sunblazer in 1989. He chocked up six Brisbane premierships during this time span.

A stint with Hall of Fame trainer Lee Freedman in the early 90's did not pan out and Munce returned to Queensland for a time before returning to work with Gai Waterhouse in 1995. This team produced results in short order with the Metropolitan and All Aged Stakes coming their way. 1995 also featured a win in the Epsom Handicap. 1996 was the year for wins in the Goodwood Handicap and AJC Metropolitan Handicaps. Another Epsom Handicap came his way in 1997, to compliment victories in the Doomben 10,000 and the Stradbroke Handicap.

He attained the Australian horse racing pinnacle in 1998 when he brought Jezabeel, a Brian Jenkins trained mare to victory in the Melbourne Cup. That same year featured a win in the Golden Slipper Stakes aboard Prowl.

Munce continued his consistent winning ways with significant wins coming in the WS Cox Plate courtesy of Savabeel and the Salinger Stakes aboard Dance Hero. A second Golden Slipper Stakes came in 2004. Next up was a 2006 victory in the Mackinnon Stakes where it was Desert War who carried him home for the win.

A decision on Munce's part to prove his mettle in Hong Kong was to prove to be the source of the lone black mark on an other wise stellar career.

Hong Kong racing's anything goes reputation proved to be more than Munce could handle. He was accused and convicted of selling racing tips and riding to support those tips on the basis of an investigation by the Hong Kong agency tasked with polishing Honker's racing reputation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Munce was found in possession of a large sum of cash and betting slips that tied him to businessman Andy Lau. It was one of the most notorious cash-for-tips cases of all time, especially when you take the harsh penalty Munce received into account.

Not being content with Hong Kong jockey's 9% cut was his downfall, which is somewhat inexplicable since Munce was at least financially secure from his record in Australia.

Expecting a fine and a ban, Munce, and the whole of the racing community was shocked when he received a 30 month jail sentence.

He was not the first jockey to run afoul of the Hong Kong justice system, and others such as David Brosnan and Darren Beadman got off with bans of under a year. Even George Moore's son Gary had a taste with a 4 and a half year ban.

Many feel that Munce's penalty was unjust and extreme, and to the credit of racing NSW, the ban was not honoured in Australia.

Munce was released after 20 months on 30th October 2008.

He seemed more subdued than previous to the jail time, decided to concentrate on smaller events, and was back at Randwick in late 2008. He continued to rise back up to the top rank, and by the time of the 2010 Spring Racing Carnival, he was back in top form.

At the age of 41, along with trainer Gai Waterhouse, he rode Descarado to a dramatic run from behind victory in the 2010 Caulfield Cup on 16 October in a time of 2:36.69.

Major victories, being trusted with top level horses, getting rides from top trainers and owners, consistent winning and substantial pay offs for connections and punters are all criteria that contribute to the All Time Great appellation being given to a jockey.

Chris Munce provided all these, and in so doing, can be legitimately mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Dittman, Moore and Higgins.

About the Author

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