Munce hit with charges
MELBOURNE Cup-winning jockey Chris Munce has been charged by stewards with administering an alkalinising agent to one of his horses, as it was revealed stable CCTV footage is central to another 10 matters being probed in the ongoing inquiry.
Jockey- turned- trainer Munce and his son Corey, who works for his father, both fronted a stewards inquiry at Doomben on Tuesday.
The matter dates back to 2020, when racing authorities seized stable CCTV footage after an October inspection of Munce’s Eagle Farm stables.
It resulted in Munce initially being suspended for three months on a treatment charge involving the mare Lady Brahmos, with Munce’s ban subsequently reduced to a $5000 fine on internal review.
But stewards have since been poring through a mountain of other CCTV footage, a matter which has taken significant time. Chris Munce has now been charged by stewards with administering an alkalinising agent to Skate To Paris prior to the mare winning the $125,000 Listed Brisbane Stakes at Doomben on September 12, 2020.
Corey Munce, who worked as a stablehand at the time, has been charged with being a party to the administration.
Both charges were delivered in writing last week, before Tuesday’s stewards hearing.
Barrister Jim Murdoch said both Munces pleaded not guilty to the charges and would vigorously defend themselves.
Rules of racing state horses must not be injected with anything within one clear day of racing without permission of stewards.
Steward Daniel Aurisch, who was chairing the inquiry, indicated there had been 21 additional matters stewards had been considering in relation to CCTV footage.
Aurisch indicated stewards would not proceed with any action in 11 of those matters, but said there were 10 matters that remained the subject of the stewards inquiry.
Murdoch told Aurisch that much of the CCTV footage was ambiguous or inconclusive. “We have studied it in depth and are of the fairly strong persuasion the (CCTV) footage is ambiguous,” Murdoch said.
Murdoch requested an adjournment of the inquiry to examine the CCTV footage again. Aurisch consented to the adjournment, but warned all parties that stewards expected to conclude the inquiry when it resumed in a fortnight.
In 2015, Munce hung up his riding saddle after a 30-yearcareer in which he became one of a small band of jockeys to complete the grand slam, with wins in the Caulfield and Melbourne cups, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper.
Munce’s career has also had its challenges – jailed over the tips for bets scandal in Hong Kong and then surviving a battle against throat cancer.