Monarch to reign supreme

By Brodie Nickson

The rapid rise of Brave Monarch - from debuting in August to a potential start in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap eight months later - has stamped him as one of Queensland’s most exciting talents.

Co-trainer Chris Munce held a nice opinion of three-year-old gelding Brave Monarch long before his debut and didn’t take long to show that talent on the racetrack.

Brave Monarch was beaten on debut in a 1000m Maiden at Eagle Farm and following a tick over barrier trial, produced a monster turn-of-foot to win his next start over 1200m at Doomben.

The gelding smashed the clock that day and the first indication to many punters of his above average ability. The time of 1:09.74 was the quickest of four 1200m races on the meeting.

He ran quicker time than the other two Maidens, while also comfortably finishing in faster time than six-time winner Caspernova, who won the Benchmark 70.

The Benchmark 70 zipped home in 33.62 seconds for the last 600m off a moderate pace, but Brave Monarch’s race recorded 33.72, even despite Brave Monarch settling near last at the turn.

His last 400m alone rated 5.4 lengths above the class average for Maiden races at Doomben over 1200m.

That performance, understandably, caught the eyes of many, and he was heavily backed at his next start when stepping up to Saturday racing at Eagle Farm.

Connections had to be patient after a summer storm forced the latter half of Eagle Farm’s VRC Derby Day meeting to be postponed to Melbourne Cup Day. 

Here Brace Monarch duly saluted by 1.4 lengths and went on to win again, taking his record at the end of his first racing preparation to three wins in four starts.

“He has just kept on improving. He has done a terrific job,” Munce said.

“He has just been one of them horses that has improved with training. He has enjoyed being in the stable and enjoyed his training.

“Although he hasn’t had long preparations, he has had four runs this time around [and] he has kept on improving every time we have raised the mark and asked of him.

“I just think in 12 months’ time you will see the best of him as a four and five-year-old.”

Connections didn’t expect Brave Monarch to be an early runner, with syndication owner Shelly Hancox outlaying only $20,000 for him as a yearling in the 2024 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

“He wasn’t a particular big or robust yearling,” Hancox said.

“Brave Smash was just going at the time and it had been announced he was going from Queensland to Yarraman Park where, obviously, he has covered better mares.

“The mare Puppet Queen didn’t have a great record at the time. She had only had a couple of minor winners.”

Chris Waller trains the older sibling, Invader Zim, who at the time was yet to break his Maiden.

Hancox couldn’t have timed the purchase any better because only weeks after her buying Brave Monarch, Invader Zim won a metropolitan Maiden at Rosehill and has won multiple Saturday metropolitan races since.

“At that Classic Sale in Sydney, you can get some horses that are reasonably immature. The sale is early February so they are recently out of weanling stage,” Hancox said.

“Before he [Brave Monarch] even raced Chris said he was above average and he hasn’t been wrong at all about any of the horses we have given to him.

“When he said ‘this is smart’, we backed him.

“After his first preparation where he won three, Chris said ‘I think we can look at something a bit better during the carnival next year’.”

Munce, who co-trains alongside his son, Corey, has had a long association with Hancox.

“I rode as a jockey for Shelly and had a lot of luck for her. She has been a great supporter of mine since I started training, so it’s been nice to be able to get a horse like that and have a bit of luck with [Brave Monarch],” Munce said.

He spelled Brave Monarch following his third straight win at the Sunshine Coast in November with the Queensland Racing Carnival in mind.

Brave Monarch returned to the races in a Three-Year-Old Handicap at Eagle Farm where he was massive in defeat from barrier 15.

He wasted no time bouncing back, maintaining his unbeaten second and third-up record to win consecutive black-type races.

He won the Listed Daybreak Lover over 1400m at Eagle Farm and landed a popular win in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) when dominating as a short-priced favourite.

“The two target races were the Daybreak Lover and Queensland Guineas, and he won both,” Hancox said.

“[Chris] gave him a freshen-up before running in the Fred Best, but I think it was a bit of pie in the sky stuff to think he could get into the Stradbroke and win it.”

Brave Monarch stepped back to 1400m following his Queensland Guineas win and was tough finishing fourth, narrowly missing out on a golden ticket into the $3 million Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap.

It was a bittersweet performance for Hancox and connections who would have loved to have gained a start in the Stradbroke Handicap, but performed admirably in one of the strongest editions of the Fred Best in years.

“The first and second horses are very good and I thought the first four horses went very well. Maybe he just peaked on his run or he is at the point where he has had enough and needs a decent break, but he is probably still learning,” Hancox said.

Munce reiterated the fact that what we are seeing from Brave Monarch still isn’t the finished product.

“With the spring in mind there are obviously a lot of races that could possibly be available for him,” Munce said.

“First thing is, he is having a nice break. He will have four to six weeks out then we will get him back.”

The other interesting part of Brave Monarch’s future is what distance may be his best. A Listed winner over 1400m and Group 2 winner over a mile, there is a plethora of feature races at his disposal.

“I think that 1400m to a mile is his sweet spot. As he gets older he may get further, but right now I think that is about as far as we need him to go anyway,” Munce said.

Hancox says she is ‘happy for Munce to decide’ his best distance and said of breeding 2000m isn’t out of the equation.