South African jockey RYAN MUNGER made a big move from his home country to Ontario earlier this year and it has been a successful transition for the personable young man. And while a stakes win had eluded him for his first several months, he reached that pinnacle in dramatic fashion on Oct. 15 at Woodbine.
Guiding the young filly A LITTLE FRISKY, an Ontario-bred and a maiden, in the $140,250 Glorious Song Stakes, Munger sat quiet on the two-year-old after a sluggish start to the seven-furlong Tapeta race. The daughter of Army Mule – Tulsa by Zensational was a bit headstrong behind her rivals but with plenty of traffic up front, she had to wait to make her charge.
With front-runner Mystic Lake still strong on the pace on a track that favoured speed all day, Munger pointed A Little Frisky for a path between fillies in mid-stretch and, while racing greenly, she charged past for the win.
The Josie Carroll-trained filly won by 3/4 of a length at 6-to-1 over 15-to-1 Mystic Lake, a Florida-bred for trainer Saffie Joseph, who was just ahead of Gary Barber’s Witwatersrand. The time was a quick 1:21.87.
“Got the monkey off my back, it feels great. It all worked out and the plan came together.” said jockey Ryan Munger, about his first Canadian stake win. “Josie Carroll gave me a lot of instructions and big thanks to her, she had the filly in spot-on condition.”
“It was actually a funny race, I didn’t get the best of jumps, which was a bit unfortunate. There were four horses abreast, and I decided it is a very competitive field and the only way I can knockout punch was to save ground and take a chance. So that’s what I did, then I just waited for the gaps to open,” said Munger.
Trainer Josie Carroll sees a bright future for the young filly. “We loved this filly from the start, but she is still very immature, there’s nothing but upside to her. She’s got a lot of growing up and learning to do. But she was brave and bold today, we are very proud of her,” Carroll commented.
Munger, a leading rider in South Africa, is represented by agent Mike Luider.
Bred by Ted Burnett’s Josham Farms Limited, A Little Frisky was purchased for $140,000 by Dodson from the Keeneland September yearling sale last year.
Her dam, Tusla, was a winner once in six races and is a half-sister to five other winners including stakes winner Conquest Sandman. Third dam Escape Reality produced Breeders’ Stakes-winning filly Sweetest Thing.
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