Australian jockey Munce swapped tips for race bets

HONG KONG – Champion Australian jockey Christopher Munce gave race information gleaned from training sessions in exchange for middlemen placing huge bets on his behalf, a Hong Kong court was told yesterday.

The 37-year jockey, whose greatest triumph came when he rode Jezabeel to victory in the 1998 Melbourne Cup, also fixed his rides to match the tips he passed on, prosecutors allege. Munce, who denies one count of conspiracy to accept advantages, was charged in September last year after he was arrested while trying to leave the country for Australia.At the time, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) which had investigated the case said he had pocketed 1.6 million dollars in the alleged scam.ICAC graftbusters arrested him following a series of meetings he had with a local businessman named Dinesh Daswani.The court heard that Munce had approached Daswani last year and asked if he could find someone willing to place race bets for him.Hong Kong jockeys are banned from betting in any race.Daswani agreed to find a middleman but only in return for racing tips.Over the course of more than 20 races, the court heard, Munce passed on information about different horses following pre-race track training sessions – a practice also outlawed by Hong Kong’s racing authority, the Jockey Club.Daswani contacted another businessman, Andy Lau, who placed bets of between 5,000 and 20,000 Hong Kong dollars on each of those races, the court heard.Daswani was said to have taken a 30 percent cut of Munce’s winnings.The deal was established over a series of meetings at Kowloon hotels.At one of them the pair agreed to cut out Lau and use Daswani’s uncle Kamal Daswaney instead.ICAC inspectors began staking out the men at the meetings and in July last year apprehended Munce.Nampa-AFPMunce, who denies one count of conspiracy to accept advantages, was charged in September last year after he was arrested while trying to leave the country for Australia.At the time, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) which had investigated the case said he had pocketed 1.6 million dollars in the alleged scam.ICAC graftbusters arrested him following a series of meetings he had with a local businessman named Dinesh Daswani.The court heard that Munce had approached Daswani last year and asked if he could find someone willing to place race bets for him.Hong Kong jockeys are banned from betting in any race.Daswani agreed to find a middleman but only in return for racing tips.Over the course of more than 20 races, the court heard, Munce passed on information about different horses following pre-race track training sessions – a practice also outlawed by Hong Kong’s racing authority, the Jockey Club.Daswani contacted another businessman, Andy Lau, who placed bets of between 5,000 and 20,000 Hong Kong dollars on each of those races, the court heard.Daswani was said to have taken a 30 percent cut of Munce’s winnings.The deal was established over a series of meetings at Kowloon hotels.At one of them the pair agreed to cut out Lau and use Daswani’s uncle Kamal Daswaney instead.ICAC inspectors began staking out the men at the meetings and in July last year apprehended Munce.Nampa-AFP