Four years after becoming the first jockey to claim the Ipswich Cup as a trainer, Chris Munce had added another footnote – winning it in partnership with son Corey.
Munce took out the Listed staying feature aboard Oompala in 1994, that horse going on to finish third to Jeune in the Melbourne Cup.
The 2022 victor Smart Meteor then gave him his first Ipswich Cup (2150m) success as a trainer in his own right, before Kaluakoi added another chapter to the story on Saturday.
“Oompala was a very good galloper. He won the Caloundra Cup, got beaten in the Grafton Cup, then went and ran third in the Melbourne Cup,” Munce said.
“To be able to ride a winner and now train two, one with Corey, it’s a great thrill.”
Munce said his only question mark coming into Saturday was that Kaluakoi hadn’t had a middle-distance run this preparation.
But once the field went past the post the first time, that fear was quashed.
“I said to Corey when he got past the winning post that he was going to be hard to beat because he pricked his ears down the hill and relaxed lovely,” Munce said.
“He’s got no real turn of foot, but he’s a tough galloper.”
Kaluakoi ($4.60 fav) made the pace throughout and gave a good kick for apprentice Emily Lang to score by three-quarters of a length over Encoder ($4.80), with Sun Worshipper ($21) another 1-1/2 lengths away third.
It was Lang’s fifth victory at stakes level, and she said she took on board Chris Munce’s advice to be aggressive early.
“He did say to me on Thursday at the trials that he didn’t want (the horse) to be ridden pretty,” Lang said.
“The last four or so weeks have been really tough. I obviously don’t have a claim anymore, and with all the Sydney and Melbourne jockeys coming up, my manager has had to do a really tough job of getting me rides.
“When I get the opportunity from a stable like Chris and Corey Munce, it makes all the difference and it’s good to get the job done.”
The Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) went to the Michael Freedman-trained Soothsayer, who overcame a wide draw for Daniel Moor to score.
Lee Freedman, who runs his brother’s Gold Coast yard, said he was taken aback by the six-year-old’s rapid improvement this campaign and felt he could develop into a handy miler next season.
“I’m a bit flabbergaster to be honest because he’s gone from a benchmark 85 to a Group Three. He may have come back this ‘prep’ better than ever,” Lee Freedman said.
“I always thought he’d be a good horse for a race like the Epsom (Handicap), so that may be the race you see him in.”
