Chris Waller (horse trainer)

Chris Waller (born 5 March 1974), is a Hall of Fame trainer in Australian Thoroughbred racing best known for training the racemare Winx, a four-time winner of Australian Horse of the Year honours.[2]

For other people with the same name, see Chris Waller (disambiguation).

Chris Waller
OccupationHorse Trainer
Born (1974-03-05) 5 March 1974[1]
Foxton, New Zealand
Honours
New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame
Australian Racing Hall of Fame
Significant horses
Winx, Sacred Falls, Verry Elleegant, Yes Yes Yes, Brazen Beau, Nature Strip

Background

Chris Waller grew up on his parents' dairy farm in Himatangi, near Palmerston North. He became interested in racing watching horses such as Melbourne Cup winner Kiwi and jockeys such as Jimmy Cassidy.

Waller worked for Foxton-based horse trainer, Patrick ("Paddy") Busuttin who was known for his top stayer Castletown. He progressed to stable foreman and when Busuttin moved to Singapore, Waller commenced training on his own account. His first winner was Go Morgan at Trentham Racecourse in 1997.[3]

On 12 February 2000, he won the Group 3 Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m) at Wingatui with Ripon By, for the Dawn Fox's syndicate.[4]


Party Belle

In 1998, Waller took a horse called Party Belle to New South Wales to race. She won three races in Australia, a 2100m maiden at Wyong in September 1998 (ridden by Opie Bosson), followed by a Class 1 and a Class 2 at Kembla Grange before attempting but failing in a listed race at Randwick. Party Belle then raced in New Zealand unsuccessfully before Waller took her back to Sydney the following winter when, she won three more races in May 1999 at Randwick and Warwick Farm, ridden by Larry Cassidy.[5]


Training in Australia

Waller applied for and obtained 20 horse boxes at Rosehill and commenced training there in 2000. Initially he had limited funds but he built his training operation up over time. His first Group 1 winner came in April 2008 when he won the Doncaster Handicap with Triple Honour (NZ).

He extended his operation with stables at Flemington, the Gold Coast and Warwick Farm.

On 24 April 2021, Chris brought up 125 Group 1 victories when Kolding won the All Aged Stakes at Randwick.

On 2 November 2021 Waller won his first Melbourne Cup with his horse Verry Elleegant.

Group 1 Winners (153)

See also

References
  1. "Chris Waller Profile". racing.com.
  2. "Winx Profile". breednet.com.au.
  3. "From making millions to myth-making, how Kiwi Chris Waller became one of Australia's best-loved sporting identities". 25 January 2020.
  4. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 2000 (29th edition). Bradford, David, Editor. Bradford Publishing Limited, Auckland, New Zealand.
  5. "About Chris Waller".


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.