Champion Gr 1 winning jockey Chris Munce faces new claims by stewards of illegally injecting horses

Former champion jockey and now Brisbane’s top race horse trainer Chris Munce is the subject of new investigation by Queensland’s race stewards.

The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) has seized hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from its Eagle Farm stables and will monitor it closely for any suspected suspicious activity from Munce and his Foreman son Corey.

A new steward panel has been convened to hear “new evidence” early next month.

Previously, a panel had investigated allegations of needles in the banned 24 hours before a race period, but that has all been cleared with the introduction of this new panel.

The term ‘vacated’ when used in legal parlance means – to cancel or cancel (a judgment, contract or charge).

That hearing will be in July, but what a past 48 hours it has been for the little jockey.

On Saturday, he saddled his first-ever Gr 1 winner as a trainer as Palaisipan charged between the runners to claim the $700,000 Tatt’s Tiara, a race Munce also won as a jockey.

“I’m just so emotional,” he said after the race. That emotion may reach different heights in the coming weeks.

“Trainer Chris Munce and his foreman Corey Munce will face a QRIC stewardship inquiry on July 3, 4 and 5, 2023,” a QRIC spokesperson told Racing net.

Chris Munce (in brown silk) holds the Gr 1 Caulfield Cup in the air after his win for trainer Gai Waterhouse (also pictured) in 2010 aboard Descarado

The investigation follows an investigation into CCTV footage from the Munce stables seized in October 2020. On that day, the seizure of the footage was the result of a pre-race inspection at the Munce stables on October 2, 2020.

A new steward panel has been convened to conduct the investigation and rehear the evidence.

“Tim Ryan KC will be the counsel assisting the stewards. Since this is a new investigation, all previous charges have been dropped.”

This all follows those CCTV videos from that random barn check in October 2020.

At the time, the QRIC found Munce guilty of ‘six counts of injecting racehorses within one clear day of them taking part’.

Munce was also charged with “twice administering an alkalizing agent to horses on race day, while his son was charged with two counts of complicity in administering an alkalizing agent to horses on race day.”

Chris Munce (on the inside on Jezabeel) narrowly wins the 1998 Gr 1 Melbourne Cup

The injections themselves are NOT a rule violation, but there are strict guidelines and rules regarding the timing of injections, which will result in fines and suspension if those injection guidelines are violated or compromised.

Racing Rules State horses may NOT be injected with any substance within one clear day of racing without stewards’ approval.

At the time, the images forced the hand of the QRIC to impose fines and bans on trainer Munce.

He was suspended for three months for treating the mare Lady Brahmos, after which Munce’s ban was reduced to a $5,000 fine after internal review.

Munce won many Gr 1 races as a jockey, including the 2006 MacKinnon Stakes atop Desert War (pictured)

Shortly after the QRIC findings, the mare was transferred to Stuart Kendrick’s stables.

All previous charges are now cleared.

Munce has rigorously maintained that he did not break the rule.

In his time in the saddle, Munce was regarded as one of the very best riders in the country and is one of the few riders to have ridden the Australian Grand Slam of majors: the Gr 1 Melbourne Cup; the Gr 1 Caulfield Cup; the Gr 1 Golden Slipper and the Gr 1 Cox Plate.

Tatt’s Tiara’s victory on Saturday is the last race Munce’s Palaisipan will start in, as she has been sold to Japanese interests and will be bred at Arrowfield Stud in NSW later this year.