A rising apprentice, a perfectly timed ride and a mare peaking at exactly the right moment combined to create a memorable chapter in Ipswich Cup history on Saturday in front of a bumper crowd.
Celebrating the 160th running of the city’s most famous race, Chris and Corey Munce-trained mare Kaluakoi surged to victory under Emily Lang, delivering a breakthrough feature-race triumph for the talented apprentice and denying a host of more fancied rivals.
The market proved a strong guide in the lead-up to the $250,000 feature, with Kaluakoi firming from $7 into $4.80 before producing a brilliant staying performance over the 2150m trip.
Meanwhile, race favourite Belvedere Boys drifted from an opening quote of $3.60 to start the $5.50 third elect before finishing fifth after a tough run from a wide barrier.
Lang settled Kaluakoi beautifully throughout the Listed contest before asking the mare to extend approaching the home turn. The response was immediate, with the four-year-old quickly asserting herself in the straight and proving too strong for her rivals.
Encoder ($4.60), trained by Michael Freedman and ridden by Boris Thornton, produced another courageous performance after enjoying a favourable run from barrier one to finish second. Longshot Sun Worshipper ($21) rounded out the placings after charging home late for trainer Mark Kropp and jockey Ron Stewart.
The victory was a significant milestone for Lang, who edges closer to her 2000th ride having already taken major wins in the 2025 Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy onboard Rockribbed and this year’s Listed Brisbane Handicap onboard Kronenbourg.
For local racing fans, much of the attention before the race centred on Belvedere Boys and jockey Jake Bayliss.
The Matthew Dunn-trained gelding carried strong support throughout the week, with many hoping Bayliss could emulate his father’s Ipswich Cup triumph 37 years earlier.
However, after drawing barrier 12, Belvedere Boys was forced to work throughout the race and was unable to produce the finishing burst required, eventually crossing the line in fifth, 3.68 lengths behind the winner.
Lang also made it a Listed class double taking out the last on the card with the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic onboard favourite Naifah, despite riding from the carpark out of gate 14.
While the Cup provided the headline act, jockey Ben E Thompson enjoyed a stellar afternoon in the saddle, riding a winning treble across the card.
