ALAN MUNRO

Younger racegoers might not be too familiar with the name "Alan Munro", but he is a returned hero indeed. Success came sooner rather than later after Alan started riding in the 80ies, and his association with Paul Cole´s dual Derby-winner Generous was the highlight of 1991. Things did not go too smoothly after this; a short review of Alan´s career can be found here:

www.jockeysroom - Alan Munro

Alan returned to the british racing scene at the beginning of the 2005 flat season. I found this very interesting article when searching the net:

The Sunday Times, march 27, 2005

Racing: He's back and he means business
ANDREW LONGMORE

Jockey Alan Munro has always been different, but after four years out of the saddle he is proving he still has what it takes

Only one question is legitimate in assessing the career of Alan Munro, Derby-winning jockey, Taoist and karate black belt. Where to begin? In a press conference after the 1991 Derby when, instead of providing a vivid description of the greatest day of his life, he told assembled journalists to mind their own business? In 1994, when he left these shores to take up a lucrative assignment in Hong Kong? Maybe June 2000 and another press conference, this time to announce he was taking a four-year sabbatical from riding? Or perhaps eight days ago, in front of a half-decent crowd at Lingfield, when Phantom Whisper provided the 38-year-old with a winner on his first ride back in England for eight years? Take your pick.
Jockeys can go lifetimes without making contact with the real world. Munro is different, always has been, since the day he watched Steve Cauthen on John Craven’s Newsround and decided he would become a jockey. He was 16 and hadn’t sat on a horse in his life. It took him two years to feel safe, another five to win the world’s biggest race, maybe another decade before he began to feel comfortable with his success.

To do that, he did what jockeys almost never do. He walked away, sold his home near the racetrack in Sha Tin and moved to central Hong Kong, where he could blend into a life beyond racing. The most remarkable thing is that Munro did it to a plan. He said he was taking four years off. Not three or five, but four. By his calculations, one year to feel lost, two to get stuck in to a new way of life, three to enjoy it and four to miss the old way of life. And, in just on four years, he was back, not at the top, but back and, perhaps for the first time in his life, at peace with himself.

Where to begin? At the end, maybe, and his return to the saddle in New Zealand, first at trials at Peora, where he lined up alongside a bunch of kids. Then on to the racetrack at Rotorua, leaving the starting gate, reaching race speed again. He had scheduled six weeks to race-ride again but was doing it in three. On his sixth ride back, he rode a Stravinsky filly which won nicely and deposited her jockey on the floor after passing the finishing post. Munro broke his nose in three places and didn ’t care one jot, so busy was he relishing the feeling of being a winner again. “To be,” he says, “who I really am, to feel complete.

“When I got out of racing, I completely left the sport. I needed to get out, I was burnt out. But I lost my identity. I wasn’t a race-rider any more, I was just a small bloke with black hair. When someone asked me what I did, I said, ‘Nothing very much, really’. For a year I was lost. It’s difficult to find your place again without being a rider, but as time goes by it becomes easier. You get new interests.

“By the second year, I’d developed a new identity and a new life, but I wasn’t doing the thing I was really good at. I needed to have my identity back.” Switch now to the day he fulfilled an ambition. It might have been riding Generous to victory at Epsom, or The Curragh for the Irish Derby, or Ascot for the King George. It might have been, but it wasn’t. It was the day Alan Munro, a small bloke with dark hair, became a black belt in karate. “To get that, you have to fight 15 people in a day. I’m one of the smallest and I had seven bells kicked out of me all day. I was throwing up after the fourth fight, but I got through and I found out you can push yourself further than you think.”

For four years, karate was Munro’s therapy. His attraction to one of the toughest of the martial arts began before he quit the saddle and was instrumental in his decision to leave racing. For six months, he endured more pain than anything inflicted on him as a jockey — bruised feet, beaten up hands, aching shins.

Munro travelled to Japan to fight in the Japan Cup and to Greece for another international tournament. He wasn’t good enough, but he learnt a lot about himself. “When you’re sparring, you’re really alive. It was full contact. You don’t have to be any good to fight, you just have to be up for it and the rush of adrenaline was more than race-riding. When I stopped riding, I knew karate was one of the things I wanted to do.”

Another was to live a little less like a hermit and to start his own business. His first dotcom company failed; his second, selling hospitality programmes in Hong Kong, is in its second year and starting to become profitable. His conversion to Taoism was a less obvious product of his reshuffled priorities. Munro’s elder sister, Fiona, had died young of leukaemia, and his mother Brenda has been suffering from a long-term illness. Perhaps as much for them as for himself, Munro was drawn towards an ancient religion which seemed to give more than it demanded. “I was riding for Chinese owners and Chinese trainers,” Munro explains. “If things weren’t going well, they were very superstitious. They’d take you to the temple and do a lion dance for you. They’d go and pray and I’d go with them. They have gods of weather, gods of the horse, money gods and they have one really good thing. I was able to burn clothes and money and make offerings to my sister. It’s been a comfort to me.”

When he looks back, Munro seems to be viewing a different person now. He is reluctant to discuss his Derby victory. But he knows his life changed with that one ride and one ill-judged encounter with the media. “I was a young kid carrying some baggage from a suspension I’d got just before the Derby. It was the first chance people had to write bad stuff about me and they took it. They were the ones asking the bad questions, I was reacting to them, but there were others, sports writers rather than racing press at the back of the room, and all they saw was this arrogant young kid.”

That glorious season of 1991 seemed to mark the high point of the young jockey who blitzed so many of the big races in the dark green colours of Fahd Salman. Three years later and Munro was heading east, seduced by the growing international prestige of the racing in Hong Kong. Instead of clocking up thousands of miles up and down the motorways of England, he was living above the shop and racing twice a week for more money. But there are reasons why the average span of a jockey’s career in Hong Kong is closer to three years than Munro’s 10. “You must have winners,” Munro explains. “Go for a few meetings without a winner and you know about it.”

In 1996, an accident on the gallops led to Munro being stood down for a year. Colliding with the back of a horse’s head is an occupational hazard, but more unusual in Munro’s case was the force of the blow that concussed him. He still has the helmet with the dent in it. Though he fought to get his licence back, medical opinion did not come down in his favour. Munro went to Indonesia and studied kung-fu. He returned, but a long suspension during the 1999 season heightened his sense of disillusion. He told close friends he was going to stop riding and take up martial arts instead. They didn’t believe him, so he announced it at a press conference. Nobody believed he would be back. “It was exciting,” he says. “The first year was difficult, but the fourth year was the best. I had a great life, loads of friends, all out of racing, and I was heavily into the martial arts. I was living an image as a rider really and I felt, having got out of it, that everything was real.

“It took a while to feel good about that and realise who I was becoming. It’s hard to explain. If you can ride, you’re in the family and it’s a passport to go anywhere in the world. But you put a lot of pressure on yourself. By moving away from it, I gained a real perspective of where racing is in my life. But it was a comfort zone and I needed to give myself a kick. I had to wake up and get back to who I am.”

The two questions were “how?” and “where?”. Most of his weighing-room colleagues thought riding in England was too much like hard work, but there is some unfinished business for Munro here and a prestige unrivalled in world racing. If he was going to return to the pinnacle of his profession, and persuade the Hong Kong Jockey Club to take him back, England has to be the right place. More importantly, he can be close to his mother and see more of his father.

“British racing has changed and I have no idea where I’m going to be able to slot back into it,” he says. “I don’t even know if I’ll end up staying here. All the driving, the huge tax rate and for a rider choosing a country the betting exchanges are a big negative. I could go out on a favourite, ride an honest race, run into trouble, get beat and then someone’s had a lot of money on you to get beat. There’s some possible link-up between me and that person and I’m innocent. That seems to be what’s happening recently. But England is the most prestigious place to be riding and that’s where I want to be. That’s why I’m here and for my mum.”

He has moved back into a house he first bought as an apprentice, near Cambridge, and every Tuesday takes the train west to ride out for Rod Millman in Cullompton. He was nervous about returning to the weighing-room after so long, then found a host of familiar faces. But it was still typical of the prodigal son that Phantom Whisper, a Makbul colt, should understand so swiftly what was expected of him. “The result,” wrote the analyst in the Racing Post the following day, “was a dream outcome for Alan Munro on his first ride in Britain for eight years — none of his class has disappeared.” Munro liked that, enjoyed the whole day.

“There’s always been this nagging fear that you can’t do it any more, the Bjorn Borg syndrome, I suppose,” he says. “But the good thing about racing is that it’s not about the past, it’s about now and about tomorrow. The chances of me being as good as I was are high. More important, the chances of me being better are high also. I’m not worn out, I’m fresh, I’m keen.”

Where to begin? Sitting on the bench in the weighing-room at Rotorua on his first day back. He had two good mounts, neither finished in the frame and all he could feel was disappointment. “Now I remember,” Munro thought, “this is exactly what it’s about.”

But let´s step back in time and relive Alan´s past two years through a couple of articles:

Courtesy of Racingpost!

Munro plans shock return to ride in UK
Published: 09/11/2004 (Sport) GRAHAM GREEN

DERBY-WINNING jockey Alan Munro is planning a surprise return to the saddle in Britain when the new Flat season starts next March.
Now 37, Munro's decision to make a comeback follows a four-year sabbatical from the sport.
Much of his time during the intervening period has been devoted to studying martial arts in the Far East.
Munro, who employed a low-crouched American riding style, enjoyed successful associations with Mel Brittain and Bill O'Gorman, but is best remembered for his partnership with Generous, on whom he won the 1991 Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes as retained jockey to the late Fahd Salman.
Munro moved to Hong Kong soon after and rode there for nine years before, in the wake of one of his biggest career wins when former British-trained Industrialist landed the pounds 560,000 Audemars Piquet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin in April 2000, he announced his intention to take a break from racing.
That victory was the highlight of a troubled season for Munro, who had received a two-month suspension the previous November after being found guilty of not taking all reasonable and permissible measures to win on Silent Partner in a race at Sha Tin. At the time, it was the stiffest suspension handed down in the former colony for four years.
Over the past four years, Munro has virtually disappeared from the scene, but he resurfaced last week in Hong Kong, where he told a newspaper: 'After being involved in the tough competition of racing for so many years, I got really tired of that.
'Therefore, in the middle of 2000, I decided to leave the industry and do something I really wanted to do. I spent a lot of my time learning karate.
'Nevertheless, I am 37 years old, which means there is still a long way ahead of me. I also recognised that learning martial arts is never a business. Finally, I started to think about going back to riding again.'
Munro said that as his mother and relatives live in Britain, he has chosen to return to riding in Britain so he can see them more often.
He may first go to the United States to ride track work with the aim of getting himself fit. He could also go to either Australia or New Zealand and do some stable work.
Asked if he would like to ride in Hong Kong again, Munro replied: 'I regarded Hong Kong as my second home since I was there in 1992. But since I haven't been riding for a long time, I don't think the Hong Kong Jockey Club would accept my application. I think I will only apply if the results for my comeback are good.'

Karate keeps Munro fighting fit for return
Published: 12/11/2004 (Sport) Graham Green
ALAN MUNRO is already close to his fighting weight ahead of his return to British racing next spring - thanks to being a karate expert, writes Graham Green.
Despite a four-year absence from the saddle, keeping fit for top-class martial arts competitions has meant the only Derby-winning jockey who is also a black belt still tips the scales at just 8st 6lb.
Although the announcement this week of his intention to resume race-riding came out of the blue, the 37-year-old yesterday told the Racing Post that this had always been his plan.
Speaking from Hong Kong, where he has been living, he said: 'When I took a break in June 2000 it was going to be a four-year sabbatical, so I have overshot the mark. But I had to prepare for a competition in August and then I spent a month in England, visiting my mum, so that has pushed everything forward to returning next year.'
Munro moved to the Far East soon after enjoying a successful partnership with Generous, on whom he won the 1991 Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes as retained jockey to the late Fahd Salman. But now, having indulged his passion for karate, at which he has competed at world championship level this summer, he considers the time is right to return to Britain and is looking forward to the challenge.
'I plan to go to America to do track-work in the new year and I might then try to get some race-riding in Australia or New Zealand, so that I can be 100 per cent when I get back to Britain,' he said.
'I assume it's going to be tough, but I'd like to think someone will put me up. I have been living outside the sport and it has been really good for me - I certainly feel I have benefited from it.'

The Friday Interview: Racing has been a good outlet for me - if you take me out of racing there is not much that I fit into

Mark Blackman meets a rider who has been there and done it and is back for more
Published: 25/03/2005 (Sport) Mark Blackman

I STILL remember the first bet I ever landed thanks to Alan Munro. The venue: Wellfield Wood Junior School in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The year: 1978. At stake: a packet of Chewits and two football stickers. The bet: that the 11-year-old Munro could walk around the entire perimeter of our school football pitch - on his hands.
The outcome: well, that was never in doubt. Unlike the poor sucker in the playground who had stood the bet, I had seen `Little Al the acrobat' perform this very feat a couple of days previously. This was inside information of the very highest quality.
Thirteen years later, Munro was doing me another good turn. The theatre for his talents this time was Epsom, and he was the lithe, streamlined slither of dark green aboard the orange bulldozer that was Generous, propelling him to victory in the world's greatest Flat race.
Now, via Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand and a self-imposed five-year break from the sport, Alan Munro is back in Britain. And to judge by the terrific reception that greeted the 38-year-old's comeback victory at Lingfield on Saturday, he's as popular now with his loyal following of racefans as he was with his awestruck peers on those playing fields 27 years ago.
I'd always wondered how our part of town - a shining example of a good new-town development, but hardly a racing heartland - came to produce a world-class jockey.
"Did you ever used to get home from school and watch Dangermouseand John Craven's Newsround?" asks Munro. "Well, I was watching one day - I'd have been 13 or 14 - and Steve Cauthen popped up on the TV on Newsround. He was the six-million-dollar kid jockey who'd just been imported by Robert Sangster to ride for Barry Hills.
"Up until then, my size had just been a joke - kids at school would say: `You're 4ft 10, being a jockey's the only thing you're going to be good at', and I'd have the mickey taken out of me.
"I wasn't academic, so that John Craven feature just made the whole idea of being a jockey very glamorous. By 15, I decided that's what I wanted to do."
He spent a year working weekends at stables in nearby Langley that housed an ex-racehorse, and at 16 left school after being taken on, ironically, by Barry Hills. Hills provided him with his first winner - Sentimental Roses at Yarmouth in 1985 - and gave Munro the platform he needed before moving north to ride for Mel Brittain in 1986.
"Mel was very prominent for a couple of years because he raced his horses prolifically and they were running well," says Munro.
"It was a good experience, and it was during that period that I spent a couple of winters riding the tracks in America."
It was there that Munro discovered and adopted the American style that was to become his trademark on his return to British shores - toe in the stirrups, crouched flat to his mount and using the ´telescopic' whip style.
"That's what got me going," he recalls. "When I left Barry Hills I was just a kid - I couldn't really ride. But as a kid you go out to America, see all the jockeys riding differently and give it a try - and it suited me, I felt more balanced that way.
"It certainly helped get me noticed as well. A couple of winners and you're off - things happen fast in racing."
Among those who noticed was Bill O'Gorman, and by 1990 Munro was attached to the trainer. It was the year of the record-breaking Timeless Times and Mac's Imp.
The latter was to give Munro his first Group success in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot - but by an amazing twist of fate, it was the horse back in second that day, a raw chestnut called Generous, who was to become forever and inextricably linked with Munro.
In the spring of 1991, Munro received a telephone call from his then business manager, Maurice Hale. "I wasn't consulted - I just got a call saying I had a new job as Prince Fahd Salman's jockey," says Munro. "Obviously I was pretty delighted."
There were many good horses that came with the deal - Zoman, Dilum, Magic Ring and Jape - but the showcase mount was Generous, a leading contender for the Derby after finishing a staying-on fourth under Richard Quinn in the 2,000 Guineas.
"Things took off in a big way, and I was just a kid really, so it was an enormous step," Munro says. "The horses all won and I had a great start, but then I made a blunder on Magic Ring in a four-horse race at Goodwood a week or two before the Derby and got suspended for four days.
"I got in a pocket and bumped Pat Eddery out of the way. Things had gone really well, but the first mistake I made they slaughtered me in the paper.
"I was still quite young and I took it badly - I thought they were waiting to do that. Maybe they didn't overdo it, but it seemed like that at the time."
On his first day back from suspension, Munro won the Derby on Generous. It's fair to say the post-race press conference could have gone better.
MUNRO says: "What I didn't know was that on days like that, all the big-name reporters come along - they don't follow racing much, but do a one-off on the Derby - and they're standing at the back.
"All the faces I knew who had crucified me a week ago were at the front, shouting quite offensive questions at me about money and stuff. I wasn't the brightest PR-wise at that time, and I just reacted to those people.
"The press men at the back didn't know what I was reacting to, so they reported on what they saw as my arrogance. In hindsight, I'd have been a bit smart and smiled. I tried to redeem myself afterwards, but I was shouting in the wind to a large extent. But hey, that was a long time ago.
"It was a one-off incident. Generally the press are very supportive of me, and profile me well and honestly. It's just that when you're young, you're not schooled to deal with media attention. Perhaps we all need PR managers at that age."
Despite continued success in the Salman colours, Munro's contract was not renewed when the three years were up, and after a year freelancing, he left to ride in Japan and Hong Kong on rolling contracts.
"Hong Kong's a fantastic place," he says. "I was there for ten years, and it became home. But by June 2000, I'd just burnt out. To ride races you need to want to do it, it needs to be a passion, and at that time it had just kind of run out for me.
I'd wanted to do martial arts since I was about five, but you can't do it when you're old and can't do it seriously when you're racing. I also knew it would keep me in good shape for returning to racing. Had I not done martial arts, my condition now would have been terrible as, basically, I never saw a horse for four and a half years."
Dedicated to his new passion, Munro rose to the rank of black belt in karate, but was found wanting in the top competitions. It didn't hurt in keeping him fit, however - he can do 8st 2lb at present - which is just as well, as by last summer, the fire was back in his belly for a return to racing. In November, after talking things over with his friends Declan Murphy and Brett Doyle, a gameplan was hatched.
"I wanted to return for the British turf season.
Britain was where I wanted to be, because I wanted to see more of my mum and there's a global focus on British racing. Of course I want to ride in Group races again. I'm sure I'll get the opportunities, so if I don't establish myself again it'll be because I messed up.
"Racing has been a good outlet for me - if you take me out of racing there's not much that I fit into. You step out into the real world for five years, and nothing comes with you when you leave racing.
"No-one calls and you lose your identity - you have to readjust to being just a small person in the world and it's really hard." MUNRO prepared for his return with a brief spell race-riding in New Zealand in the new year, gaining two victories and a handful of placings in what Munro described as a "very tactical environment".
"In my own opinion, I shouldn't have been riding so well so early, so based on that, things could go well for me in the future - maybe I could be better than I used to be," he says.
"I've been on the mechanical horse in my garage, riding a lot of finishes, so race-finishing I'm fine, but it's the fluency in the race that will pick up as I race consistently for a while. The fluency's coming back for sure."
Supporting him with winners already are Rod Millman, who supplied his comeback success aboard Phantom Whisper, and P eter Chapple-Hyam, with whom he worked in his final year in Hong Kong. He is riding out for both trainers, and will be given plenty of opportunities on the track, while Jonathan Ramsden is the agent charged with looking for outside rides.
The truth is that Munro is as far removed from arrogant as it's possible to be. Charming, personable and, if anything, humble about his achievements on the track, he feels he has almost shrugged off a reputation that is nothing more than the baggage of youth.
After all, how many can say they'd want to be judged forever on their actions in their early 20s?
And the good news is he plans to ride for a good few years yet. "I want to ride out my career at a high level now," he says. "This year I'd be happy to re-establish myself as a good rider and maybe put myself back on the travelling stage. I'm keen to do all the dogwork and the Sunday travels - they're good days."

Munro and Quinn open old wounds in scuffle at HQ
Published: 26/05/2005 (Sport) GRAHAM GREEN

THE Jockey Club is investigating a fight between top Flat jockeys Alan Munro and Richard Quinn in the weighing-room at Newmarket last Saturday.
Munro, a martial arts expert who has made a successful return to British racing this season after almost 14 years in the Far East, is alleged to have launched into his fellow rider, who is said to have come off second best.
Neither jockey was yesterday prepared to discuss the fracas which has left Quinn sporting a black eye.
Although the public perception will be that there has been bad blood between the pair since Munro was a controversial replacement for Quinn aboard the 1991Derby winner Generous, it is believed the falling out was provoked by an incident at Windsor the previous Monday night.
Quinn, partnering Bertie Southstreet in the La Taverna Restaurant Conditions Stakes at the Thamesside track, received a two-day ban for careless riding after being found guilty of causing interference to Munro's mount, Lyrical Blues, a furlong from the start.
It is thought Quinn considered lodging an appeal, but dropped the idea when realising he would not have been able to rely on Munro's support if taking the case to Shaftesbury Avenue.
There was no hint of problems when both rode at Beverley the following afternoon, which only increased the disbelief of colleagues who witnessed the fight as fists suddenly started flying soon after Quinn entered the changing room before racing at the Rowley Mile course.
Confirming the Jockey Club was aware of the episode, spokesman Paul Struthers said: ``We have had a report of the incident and we are investigating it.''
Munro's response was a terse ``no comment'', while Quinn would only say: ``There was an incident, it's being dealt with, and I have no further comment on the subject.''
Neil Callan and Shane Kelly were each fined £250 following a weighing-room scuffle at Lingfield in January, but onlookers suggest the Munro-Quinn altercation was a much more violent affair.
While the penalties under Rule 220 (ii), relating to violent or improper conduct betweeen jockeys, involves fines ranging between £120-£2,000, there is also the provision to impose a suspension depending on the gravity of the case.

The Derby: Munro full of zest as he bids for a fairytale Epsom return
Contender: Walk In The Park
Published: 04/06/2005 (Sport) Seb Vance

WALK IN THE PARK marks a first Vodafone Derby ride in 11 years for Alan Munro and, amazingly, a first ever runner for trainer John Hammond, writes Seb Vance. The imposing colt was well touted before his seasonal debut when second to Kong in a slowly run Lingfield Derby T rial and, with a guaranteed stronger pace today, his French-based trainer is hopeful his runner will rise to the test.
``It was a mess of a race at Lingfield and 4.3 seconds slower than the fillies' equivalent,'' he said. ``So, for a horse that needs pace, it was a fair enough run, although you always prefer to win a trial.
``He raced on fast ground at Lingfield and he handled that okay, so I don't see the going as a problem. He's a big horse with plenty of scope and, hopefully, there's a fair bit of improvement to come.''
Like the favourite Motivator, Walk In The Park is by Montjeu, who Hammond trained to win an incredible six Group 1 races, and while obviously inheriting some of his sire's ability, Michael Tabor's colt also has the same headstrong characteristics.
Hammond said: ``It's no secret that he's highly strung, and that's why we took him to Epsom ten days ago, to give him a feel of the surroundings, although it will be a different story when there are 50,000 people there.
``But it's very exciting to have my first runner in the Derby and, hopefully, he'll run a good race.''
Munro will be riding in the race for a sixth time, and won the Classic aboard Generous in 1991. However, this will be his first Derby ride since 1994, having ridden in Hong K ong before taking a four-year sabbatical from the sport until his return to Britain at the start of this season.
``I thought Alan got on really well with the horse when he rode him recently,'' Hammond said. ``He's obviously had a fair bit of time out of racing, but I think that has renewed his enthusiasm.''
Munro's zest for the sport was certainly in evidence as he spoke about his chances of a fairytale comeback.
He said: ``I'm thrilled to be on him. He's an impressive type, a big, strong horse who is quite aggressive but well mannered with it.
``I think he'll suit the race. He won't be bullied out of it, but at the same time he is athletic enough to handle the course. I can't wait.''

Bargain-buy Sergeant outguns Plate rivals

Published: 26/06/2005 (Sport) Colin Russell reports

SERGEANT CECIL, picked up cheaply out of a field as a foal, outgunned his 19 rivals to take the £104,400 first prize in the John Smith's Northumberland Plate.
Giving his owner Terry Cooper the best moment of his life, trainer Rod Millman his most valuable training success, and rider Alan Munro his highest-profile success since his return to Britain, the six-year-old got behind after meeting plenty of trouble early on. But from an unpromising position turning for home, he weaved his way up the inside under a fine ride from Munro, getting up in the dying stages to beat tough front-runner Tungsten Strike by a length and a half, with Far P avilions, the ante-post gamble of the race, an honourable third.
``This is just amazing, and I still can't believe it,'' said Blandford-based Cooper, who is in the office-furniture business.
``I've been owning horses for 12 years and this is by far my biggest win. I'm very friendly with Cecil's breeder, Don Hazzard, who owned his dam Jadidh, who was a winner over hurdles. I asked him if I could have her first foal and he sold me him very cheaply.''
Millman, who did not make the journey to Tyneside, said from his Cullompton home: ``With a horse like this, there aren't many races you can go for and this one was always on the agenda. I was hoping that there wouldn't be too much rain for him.
``Mind you, after he met so much trouble early on, I thought his chance had gone. He must have been hampered about five times and I saw his head go round on three occasions.
``Alan got a great run up the inside and in the end he did it well. As they say, this was the plan, so I don't know where he'll go next. It's great to have a top jockey like Alan riding for me, but this was a team effort and I'm grateful to all my staff.''
This victory was another chapter in the revival of Munro's fortunes since his return from the Far East.
Before rushing off to catch his flight to Ireland to renew his association with Derby runner-up Walk In The Park at The Curragh, he said: ``I'm delighted with the way things have turned out and I've loved every minute of it since I came back. Rod is not only a very good trainer, he's also a very good planner.
``Things didn't go too well for me early in the race, as I wanted to race inmidfield from my draw, but I kept getting knocked back - but I had all the luck going in the straight.''
In a race run at a strong gallop, pacesetter Tungsten Strike deserves credit for repelling all bar the winner. His rider Joe Fanning said: ``He just kept galloping and ran a fine race.''
Although Far Pavilions failed to land the considerable ante-post gamble, his trainer Alan Swinbank said: ``He ran a marvellous race, as he was giving the winner weight. I'm certainly not disappointed.''
His rider Robert Winston said: ``He ran well but just didn't pick up like he can on the ground. It could be, though, that he didn't quite get the two miles, and I think a race like the Ebor would be ideal for him.''
Swift Sailor, who was sent off favourite at 7-2, had every chance but finished only 11th.
race result
Northumberland Plate
1 Sergeant Cecil ..................14-1
2 Tungsten Strike ................16-1
3 Far Pavilions........................6-1
4 Astrocharm ........................20-1
Owner: Terry Cooper
Trainer: Rod Millman
Jockey: Alan Munro
Groom: Sue Davey
Breeder: D E Hazzard
Distances: 1 1 / 2 l, 1 1 4 l, sh-hd

Riquewihr win whets Munros appetitite for season
LINGFIELD
Published: 23/03/2006 (News) by Graham Dench

ALAN MUNRO rode his first domestic winner of 2006 when getting Riquewihr home by a neck from Miskina in a blanket finish to the seven-furlong handicap.
Munro, who enjoyed a busman's holiday in New Zealand in the winter, was having only his fifth ride since his return last month, but is raring to go now that Flat racing is stepping back up a gear.
He said: "I had a great trip to New Zealand. My stats weren't too good, with two winners from 70 rides, but I saw a lot of the country and ran into Riquewihr's trainer John Wainwright, who I knew when we were both with Mel Brittain."
He added: "If I have another year like last year, when I had 60-odd winners, I'll be very happy. I'll be riding again for Rod Millman, who's got a nice bunch of two-year-olds, as well as Peter Chap-ple-Hyam, who's got a big string and some nice three-year-olds, and William Jarvis. I'm also looking forward to Wake Up Maggie in the 1,000 Guineas."

Araafa storms the Palace - and grabs the plaudits

Published: 21/06/2006 (Sport) Lee Mottershead reports

DEAR Jeremy. If you're reading this, it's safe to continue.
You were "mortified" that George Washington managed to grab all the headlines after Araafa had beaten him in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
Positively beaming yesterday following Araafa's St James's Palace Stakes demolition job, you asked for the dual Group 1 winner to finally get the credit he deserves. So now, Jeremy, prepare to be satisfied. There will still be mention of the 'G' word. The memory of George Washington's 2,000 Guineas victory inevitably stays fresh in the mind.
However, Araafa has now followed up his Curragh defeat of Ballydoyle's best with a resounding Royal Ascot win. This was his day and no other's. It was, quite simply, a one-horse race. Once Alan Munro sent his Kuwaiti-owned mount past pacemaker Arabian Prince early in the straight there was only ever going to be one winner. This may have been a distinctly average St James's Palace, but there was nothing average about the horse who won it.
Going into the final furlong, Munro was almost as far in front as he had been when landing the King George here on Generous 15 years earlier and, although French fancy Stormy River flashed home, he was never going to get there.
"Once he took it up, it was all over," said Noseda, who quickly referred to his post-Ireland ire. "When I read the papers the day after the Irish Guineas, I was mortified. It was all George Washington, George Washington.
"Hopefully this time Araafa will get the credit he deserves.
"He's improved again since Ireland. He's a top horse, a tough horse. He's got a great cruising speed and can kick off it.
It will take a mighty good one to beat him.
"The big step up now is to take on the older horses. There are all the obvious races to go for, races like the Sussex, Jacques le Marois, Queen Elizabeth II and Breeders' Cup Mile, and I'd love to go for that one - it's the ultimate end-of-season prize."
Munro was equally effusive. "To follow up his Irish Guineas win today makes him a mile champion," he said. "On this ground he's put beyond any doubt that he's an extremely good miler. He's the complete article."
Stormy River, on the other hand, is far from the complete article. Held up in last by Olivier Peslier, the French 2,000 Guineas third was scrubbed along well before heads were turned for home only to then power up the far rail to take a closing second.
"We'll get it right next time," said trainer Nicolas Clement. "He was too keen in the French Guineas and too cool today. We've been telling him to relax so much in the morning that maybe he was too relaxed."
In truth, first and second looked a notch above the rest, headed by Ballydoyle stablemates Ivan Denisovich and Marcus Andronicus.
"Ivan ran a good race but the winner did it very well," said Aidan O'Brien, while Ivan Denisovich's jockey Kieren Fallon noted that his ride "ran a good race but was too far back to be involved".
What about a certain other Ballydoyle miler? Cashmans last night offered match bet prices should George Washington and Araafa meet again.
George Washington is 8-11, Araafa only evens. Noseda would surely not agree with those prices. "If," he said, "we came up against George Washington, I'd like the rematch. I look forward to it."
And so, Jeremy, do we.
Result St James's Palace Stakes
1 Araafa Alan Munro 2-1f
2 Stormy River Olivier Peslier 7-2
3 Ivan Denisovich Kieren Fallon 13-2
Owners Saleh Al Houmaizi & Imad Al Sagar
Trainer Jeremy Noseda
Groom John Gallier
Breeder Sweetmans Bloodstock
Distances 21, 1 3/4 1

What started with so much positive energy took a nasty turn for the worse though in august 2006. Alan was forced to miss his intended ride on Dutch Art in the Prix Morny in France after his plane was forced to return to the airport.:

Mystery over fitness of absent Munro
Published: 22/08/2006 (Sport) By Graham Green

MYSTERY surrounds the fitness of Alan Munro, who on Sunday forfeited a Group 1 winner after reporting sick and being replaced by Christophe Soumillon on Dutch Art in Deauville's Prix Morny, and today misses another big-race ride at York.
Munro partnered Sergeant Cecil when Rod Millman's stayer made history last season as the first horse to win the Northumberland Plate, Ebor and Cesarewitch, but in his continuing absence Frankie Dettori takes over the mount in the Group 2 Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup.
The exact nature of Munro's problem is not known, but a spokesman for the Horseracing Regulatory Authority last night admitted that the Derby-winning jockey, who returned to race-riding last year after a decade in the wilderness, had earlier in the day been given a red entry on his computerised medical record book.
"That means he is unable to ride pending clearance from Dr Michael Turner, the HRA's chief medical adviser," said the HRA's spokesman Owen Byrne.
Munro showed no evidence of being incapacitated when he rode the last winner at Goodwood on Saturday evening, aboard the Gary Moore-trained Kavachi. He picked up a one-day ban there, so is now out of action from August 29 to 31 through suspension.
Millman said yesterday: "I have not spoken to Alan, but I understand he's going to spend a couple of days in bed and hopefully won't be out too long.
"He's a very important cog in this stable and his comeback has been a real fairytale.
"I hope he is better soon. He's helped make Sergeant Cecil the horse he is and although Frankie is a very good substitute, I'd rather have Alan."

Munro suffered 'a convulsion' on flight and will see specialist
Published: 23/08/2006 (Sport) By Graham Green

ALAN MUNRO is due to see specialists today after suffering what he yesterday described as "a convulsion" while on a flight to France on Sunday morning.
The Derby-winning jockey, who has missed two Group-race successes in the last three days, said that he fell down stairs at home and banged his head shortly before boarding the light aircraft at Newmarket racecourse.
Soon afterwards, when the plane was passing over Haverhill in Suffolk, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers to declare a medical emergency. He was given immediate priority to land at Cambridge airport, where the plane was met by an ambulance that took Munro to nearby Addenbrooke's Hospital. He was discharged the same day.
Munro was replaced at Deauville on Sunday by Christophe Soumillon aboard Peter Chapple-Hyam's Group 1 Prix Morny winner Dutch Art and, at the time, 'flu was cited as a reason for his failure to turn up for the ride.
However, it has emerged that the reason for his absence was more serious than initially reported, with the Horseracing Regulatory Authority admitting on Monday afternoon that Munro had been given a red entry in his medical book.
This, in effect, means the jockey cannot ride until cleared by Dr Michael Turner, the HRA's chief medical adviser.
Minutes after watching on TV as his regular partner Sergeant Cecil landed yesterday's Group 2 Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup at York under Frankie Dettori, Munro relived the episode that has cast a cloud over what had been a fairytale return to race-riding last year following a decade in the wilderness.
"I've just moved to a new house and in the morning I fell down the stairs and banged my head," said Munro, 39.
"I didn't think anything of it and 20 minutes later I got myself on a plane to Deauville. I don't know whether it was the change in air pressure that caused it, but I've had a convulsion.
"That's the story so, basically, now I need to go to the medical scenario to work through this. I'm sorry if I've caused any problems to anyone and hopefully it can all be resolved."
In the normal course of events, when a jockey is required to be seen by a specialist, Turner will study the report before deciding if and when he can ride again.
In March 1996, Munro admitted to having "some form of convulsion" that caused him to fall from his mount during trackwork at Sha Tin, and he described the episode then as "very worrying".
In 1990, when he won the English and Irish Derbys on Generous, Munro was kicked in the head at Redcar after a fall and suffered "convulsions down my left side". "The fit was caused by the knocks I took on the side of the head," he said at the time.

Munro stood down until next summer but vows to return
'I don't see it as the end of my career - I'd like another five years'
Published: 18/10/2006 (Sport) By David Carr

ALAN MUNRO, who has been unable to ride since suffering a convulsion last August, was yesterday stood down until next summer, but immediately insisted: "I don't see this as the end of my career."
The jockey was told he must sit out a 12-month 'observation period' from the date of the incident, which occurred on a flight to France to ride Dutch Art in the Prix Morny, when he attended Horseracing Regulatory Authority headquarters in Shaftesbury Avenue to receive the results of a medical review into his case.
Munro, who has admitted to having had "some form of convulsion" twice in the past, said yesterday: "With this type of event it is normal to have an observation period - back in 1990, I was given a threemonth observation period and in 1996 I was given a one-year observation period, and this is in line with that.
"They've given me a one-year observation period at the end of which I will be re-examined and re-tested, then based on that, hopefully I'll be relicensed.
"I don't see this as the end of my career. I'd like to enjoy another five years in the saddle.
"I'm no good on the ground - what I do best is ride, so I'll be keen to get back. But you have to follow protocol.
"The positive thing was that the test for epilepsy was clear. If I'd had that it would have been an automatic ban."
Munro had been out of racing for four years before 2005 but made a successful return to Britain last season with 60 winners and total prize-money earnings of £1.3 million. He was on course to better that this season with 49 victories at the time he suffered his convulsion.
His absence has cost him Group 1 success this autumn on Dutch Art and Sergeant Cecil, but the jockey said: "I know it sounds like a bit of a line but I'm delighted really that all those horses have won and reached their potential.
"When you start off at the beginning of the year that's what you hope they achieve and it's good to see it happen. I haven't been involved, but that's almost irrelevant."
Munro has yet to make concrete plans for his enforced spell on the sidelines but is likely to return to the Far East, where he moved in the early 1990s and where he spent much of his four-year sabbatical from the sport.
"I spent a lot of time out of racing, so I've got quite a good feeling that I'll have an enjoyable year," he said.
"I'll probably go to China and get back into the karate. I enjoyed it a lot and it would be nice to take it a step further - and it will keep me in good shape.
"I would like to thank everyone as I have had a lot of support from a lot of people in racing, many of whom are good friends, which has helped me get through a very difficult time."

Alan, we wish you all the best for your future! Your return to the races is eagerly awaited.
The www.sergeant-cecil.com-Team