Brave Monarch begins Weetwood mission

By Glenn Davis

The Listed Weetwood has always had a special place in trainer Chris Munce’s heart and he’s hoping to win the famous Toowoomba feature for the first time as a trainer with Brave Monarch on Saturday.

Chris, who trains in partnership with son Corey, won the Weetwood twice as a jockey aboard Count Henri in 1989 and Poor Judge in 2010.

“I was only a kid in my teens when I won on Count Henri as an apprentice and I also won it on Poor Judge for Norm Hilton,” Munce said.

“Brave Monarch will be my first starter in the race as a trainer and it’s a nice race for him to kick off his spring campaign.”

The Munce team has booked Martin Harley to partner Brave Monarch, who is having his first start since finishing fourth to Regal Award in the Group 3 Fred Best at Eagle Farm in May.

The stable is using the Weetwood as a steppingstone to the four-year-old’s Sydney campaign next month, which includes the $1 million Silver Eagle over 1300 metres and $10 million Group 1 Golden Eagle over 1500 metres at Randwick.

“He’s been in work long enough and has had a barrier trial and a jump-out,” Chris said.

“But, he’s never won first-up and he has a few things against him, including his big weight.”

Brave Monarch has won five of his eight starts and stamped himself as one of the state’s best sprinters last campaign by winning the Listed Daybreak Lover and Group 2 Queensland Guineas, both at Eagle Farm, during the winter.

While Chris is looking for a strong performance from Brave Monarch, he’s wary of the local opposition.

“Toowoomba horses always seem to race well in the Weetwood,” Chris said.

The home-ground advantage saw local sprinters dominate the Weetwood for many years, but the mould was broken when Sydney trainer Chris Waller won the feature with Sexy Eyes in 2019.

Since then, the dominance of the locals has taken a further hit, with four wins in the past six years coming from Brisbane trainers Tony Gollan (All That Pizzazz in 2023 and Hidden Wealth in 2024), Jack Bruce (Axe in 2022) and Desleigh Forster (Apache Chase in 2021).

However, recently retired former Toowoomba trainer Mark Currie restored some local pride by winning last year’s Weetwood with Tavs.

Popular Toowoomba trainer Kevin Kemp has won the Weetwood Handicap a record-equalling four times, with Startell (2001) and Typhoon Red (2014), while Tellem was a dual winner in 2005 and 2007.

Kemp shares the record for most Weetwood wins with former Toowoomba trainer Bill Nielsen.