Munhamek Extends Winning Streak in David Bourke Stakes
Melbourne, AU – Flemington-based trainer Nick Ryan knows that champion gelding Munhamek’s impressive campaign must come to an end eventually, but the indefatigable racehorse is showing no signs of slowing down just yet.
In Saturday’s $150,000 The David Bourke (1620m) at Flemington Racecourse, Munhamek picked up his 12th career victory, making light work of shouldering 61.5kg to claim the qualifier for the $200,000 Listed Winter Championship Final (1600m) on July 6.
“It’s hard to stop when they’re going this well, isn’t it?” Ryan commented after the race. The veteran trainer revealed he may now be forced to not only target the Winter Championship Final, but also consider the Group 2 Lawrence Stakes (1400m) and the prestigious Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) for his stable star.
“We’ll see what weight he gets, I suppose, but it’s two weeks (away) and then we’ve got those early weight-for-age races. He’s got that much residual fitness; he’s been in work about 15 months,” Ryan explained.
The David Bourke victory marked Munhamek’s second win in a row, following his success in the Swan Hill Cup on June 9. The 8-year-old gelding’s current campaign began with an unlucky third-place finish in the Group 2 The Damien Oliver (1400m) on Derby Day at Flemington.
Jockey Billy Egan, who was called up for Saturday’s ride after Celine Gaudray’s late withdrawal due to illness, utilized his previous experience aboard Munhamek to devise a winning strategy. After settling towards the rear, Egan angled his mount to the outside and unleashed a powerful finishing burst to prevail by a long neck over King Magnus, with Windstorm just a short-half-head away in third.
“There was nice speed and he just went to sleep for me out the back and I just let him cruise into it,” Egan said. “I exposed him early, but just because I wanted to have an uninterrupted run when the horses on-speed were going to come back into our laps a little bit.”
Munhamek’s remarkable consistency has seen him become a firm favorite among racing enthusiasts, and his connections appear eager to strike while the iron is hot and capitalize on the gelding’s outstanding form.
🔗 Source