Ryan Munger’s expertise as a judge of pace was illustrated on Saturday at Turffontein Standside in landing a feature treble over distances of 2000m to 2400m.
His treble started in the Listed Ormond Ferraris Oaks Trial over 2000m on the Ashley Fortune-trained Rafeef filly Ipso Facto.
Jumping from pole position he had the filly handy from the off and managed to tuck her in behind the early pacemaker High Roller halfway down the back straight.
At the turn Littlemarysunshine took over the lead shuffling Ipso Facto back to the third-placed horse on the rail and fourth overall.
He crept up under the hands in the straight and had clearly preserved his mount very well because she surged into the lead at the 150m mark and went on to win by 1,35 lengths from Red Maple, with favourite Raratonga Rose dead-heating with Littlemarysunshine for third.
Ipso Facto has relished the step up to 2000m and has won her last two starts over this trip. She beat Raratonga Rose by 0,20 lengths in her previous start and was half-a-kilogram worse off on Saturday but increased the margin over her to 1,75 lengths.
However, she did receive 3kg from Raratonga Rose on Saturday, so the latter will be favoured at the weights if they clash again in the Grade 2 SA Oaks.
In the 4Racing Listed Aquanaut Handicap over 2400m, Munger was aboard the only three-year-old in the race, the Ashley Fortune-trained Oratorio gelding Good Council, who jumped from draw five.
He managed to get an easy lead as the rest of the field put on the brakes early and he was thus entitled to keep the pace at that slow temp, which he cleverly did.
While his mount relaxed well in front some of the others did not, notably the favourite Zeus, who was hard on the steel, trapped on the rail.
Munger let out rein continually down the straight and was never headed.
He drew further clear in the end to win by a cosy 2,25 lengths.
Good Council raced off a 101 merit rating in his first attempt at this staying trip and it makes him an interesting contender in the SA Derby, especially on paper, because he beat the 104 rated Zeus, who was a half-a-length runner up in last year’s SA Derby, by 6,50 lengths.
However, Zeus hated the slow pace on Saturday and is better than that.
Munger later rode the Roy Magner-trained The Apache filly Apache Fighter in the Non-Black Type 4Racing Sun Chariot Handicap over 2400m.
She was drawn four and it did not pan out perfectly for Munger in the early stages as he tried to hold her up but she became caught wide.
He made an astute decision to take her around to sit on the flank of the pacemaker Opera Glass.
The tall filly loped along without pulling and stayed on well in the straight.
When challenged she found extra and pulled clear to win easily by 3,25 lengths.
She was running off a 71 merit rating and was 1,5kg under sufferance carrying 52kg.
She is clearly and improving middle distance to staying type and was not surprisingly given a ten point raise for the win.
