The extraordinary hot winning streak of the Chris and Corey Munce training partnership and jockey Maryin Harley put one more notch in the sequence on the belt when the debutant Zip Lock ($4) outgunned the $2.70 favourite Itchintogo in the closing stages to secure victory in a QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap over 1200m … the opening race on the card at Doomben.
Quite incredibly, at that stage, Harley had saluted in every one of his last eight rides … and all of those wins had come on Team Munce trained runners. To put that joint success in further perspective, only one of those winners started favourite … so there were certainly no ‘gimmes.
“Miracles do happen,” quipped Harley post-race.
“No instructions need. You just put him on and he gets the job done,” was co-trainer Corey Munce’s response to the result post-race. “The less things to worry about in this game the better.”
Three races later, that winning sequence did come to an end when the Munce training partnership and Harley had to settle for second place with Alectrona … but that purple patch of eight wins in eight rides by Harley will remain one of the top jockey statistics for the season.
Both trainer and jockey were full of praise for Zip Lock.
“Zip Lock has come to the races today off one trial … 1200m first up on a track with the sting taken out of it. We saw the field … it wasn’t a big field … he was late nom,” said co-trainer Corey Munce.
“He had the benefit of that nice trail the other day. I knew once he hit daylight and balanced up he was going to be very strong to the line.”
“He is a beautiful style of horse, and he has a lot of quality going forward.”
And Harley had a glint in his eye.
“He’s going to get further in time, so I knew he would be hitting the line real good<” said Harley.
“I’ve been thinking he is a smart horse … and he certainly is.”
The winning margin was 3.50 lengths with another two lengths back to the third placed Magritte ($10).
