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On face value, this is one of the most nondescript racing pictures snapped during an unforgettable spring carnival.
No glistening thoroughbreds floating effortlessly across the Flemington turf, no driving finish to determine a multimillion-dollar outcome, no ecstatic jockey rising high in the irons to celebrate a famous win.
Jonathan Munz (far right), John Kanga (second from right), Tanya Fullarton (black and white dress) and others pose after Getta Good Feeling won the Wakeful Stakes at Flemington on November 1.Credit: Getty Images
Instead, the power of this image, taken in the mounting yard on VRC Derby Day, is all about the power-wielding people in its frame.
The photo – chosen by The Age as one of the defining images of the year – includes two of the sport’s most influential figures across the past 12 months – Jonathan Munz and John Kanga – a pair that were considered associates, but never really friends.
The picture appears to tell a different story.
To the right of the frame is Munz, a billionaire horse owner and breeder who holds the winning sash after his filly Getta Good Feeling’s victory in the group 2 Wakeful Stakes.
It was a rare public appearance for Munz, coming a day after he emerged from behind the scenes to join the Melbourne Racing Club board as vice chairman.
Owner Jonathan Munz (right) Getta Good Feeling won the Wakeful Stakes. John Kanga is at left.Credit: Getty Images
The noted powerbroker filled a three-year casual vacancy created by the shock resignation of Kanga, the man in the photo with the pearly whites peering over Munz’s right shoulder.
Also in the image is MRC chief executive Tanya Fullarton – who is standing at the front dressed in black and white – along with Kanga’s wife Steph, who is wearing sunglasses, and Nina O’Brien, the wife of Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Danny O’Brien.
While Danny O’Brien is not in the photo, he was a big part of the trackside celebrations. A close friend of Kanga, O’Brien trains Getta Good Feeling for Munz.
The day is seen as a return to the spotlight for Kanga, who had been lying low after quitting the MRC board three weeks earlier.
In this image, he is smiling like he never left.
Until last year’s Caulfield Cup carnival, Kanga’s influence on the MRC was profound.
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Within a year, he orchestrated unprecedented change. Munz backed him all the way.
Kanga toppled the MRC board, became chairman, saved Sandown racecourse from being sold to developers, stopped plans to build a $250 million grandstand at Caulfield Racecourse, moved the Caulfield mounting yard back to its original position and introduced cheaper beer.
He also took part in preliminary merger talks with the Victorian Racing Club at Munz’s Toorak home. The merger never happened.
Kanga became a media personality and people’s champion. He also courted controversy.
He was linked to the bulk-buying of MRC memberships for his family in the lead-up to an election, a situation the club said did not break any rules nor influence an election result.
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Kanga also oversaw the sacking of CEO Tom Reilly just three months after O’Reilly started in the role, a decision that led to an out-of-court settlement to prevent legal action for unfair dismissal.
But Kanga’s decision to resign followed questions from The Age about a link to unsavoury characters more than a decade in his past.
Reilly was replaced at the MRC by Fullarton, an associate of Munz. They sat on the board of the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association together.
Now they will operate side-by-side at the MRC, a $1 billion sporting club that operates Caulfield, Sandown and Mornington racecourses.
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