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The name of Chris Munce will forever be etched in Magic Millions history as a winning jockey and trainer after his tenacious three-year-old Boomsara won the $2 million Magic Millions Guineas in a thrilling three-way finish at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
As a jockey Munce won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic three times aboard Sunblazer (1989), Excellerator (2001) and Dance Hero (2004).
On Saturday he made the transition to a Magic Millions winning trainer after Boomsara (Spirit Of Boom x Passara by Tsuimai) completed his rise to the top echelon with a fairytale win for a big syndicate of owners who took up shares in the bargain $45,000 yearling purchase.Munce, also among the select group of riders to have won Australia's four major G1 races - the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper – was overwhelmed by his achievement after the Spirit Of Boom gelding lasted to win the Guineas by a nose.
"As a rider I suppose you don't realise or appreciate the hard work that goes into getting horses ready for a day like today," Munce said."Now that I'm training you map out plans and hope it all comes to fruition. Sometimes it doesn't but today it did. It's a huge thrill.
“There are quite a few owners in the horse, about 20 or 30, and for quite a few of them it’s their first horse so to get a horse like Boomsara, it’s been a great ride for them.”Boomsara takes out the $2m #MagicMillions 3YO Guineas for trainer and jockey . pic.twitter.com/jux1RbJqwh
—January 12, 2019
Spirit Of Boom, standing at Eureka Stud in Queensland, was the leading first season sire by winners in 2017-18 when his youngsters won 18 races. His eight stakes winners to date include G3 winner Spirits Auber and Listed winners Outback Barbie, Ef Troop, Jonker and Champagne Boom.
Boomsara, a $45,000 buy from the 2017 Gold Coast March Yearling Sale by Munce Racing, has won four times and placed three times from 10 starts for prize-money of $1,566,400Boomsara is a half-brother to the stakes placed Sarisara (Red Dazzler) and is one of four winners out of his placed dam Passara, a half-sister to the stakes placed pair McFly (Perugino) and McLoud (Jeune).
Passara is out of the Bluebird mare Freebird, who featured as the granddam of two Magic Millions winners on Saturday as she also appears in the pedigree of Magic Millions QTIS winner Chapter And Verse.Passara produced a colt by Defcon in 2018 and was bred back to Spirit of Boom in 2018.
Eureka Stud retained a share in Boomsara and offered his full brother at the Magic Millions sale this year where he was purchased by the Newgates Farm/China Horse Club partnership for $150,000.Eureka Stud’s Scott McAlpine said major stud farms in NSW and Victoria had been eager to secure to Spirit Of Boom but he resisted their offers to re-locate to the former G1 winning son of Sequalo.
"We had some very significant offers but I dug my toes in," McAlpine told TDN.“I'm the third generation to run the farm and we have waited all of our lives to stand a horse like Spirit Of Boom.
“The money was there, but money can't buy this horse."Spirit Of Boom stood for a fee of $55,000 (inc GST) in 2018.
He had 13 yearlings sell at Book 1 of the Magic Millions sale for an aggregate of $2,125,000 at an average of $163,462.
