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Chris Waller took his stable’s career earnings beyond the magical $150 million prizemoney barrier when Redoutable Heart won the final race at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
The historic milestone was passed unnoticed because Sydney’s premier trainer was in Perth for the Ascot meeting. But even in this era of inflated prizemoney, it is still a significant achievement.
Waller joins Gai Waterhouse and John Hawkes as the only trainers to prepare the winners of more than $150 million in stakes in Australian racing history.
His record is remarkable because the bulk of his stable’s earnings — almost $145 million — has been won in the past 10 years.
During this decade of sustained excellence, Waller has taken his tally of Group 1 wins to 65 since winning his first major with Triple Honour in the 2008 Doncaster Handicap, and he is now 10th on the all-time list behind Tommy Smith (282 wins).
Waller became the first trainer to break the $20 million prizemoney barrier in a season in 2013-14 when he prepared the winners of $22.8 million.
He broke that mark in 2014-15 with $26.8 million, then set a new standard last season with $30.2 million, including 15 Group 1 wins.
After four months of the 2016-17 season, Waller’s runners have won $10.7 million with three Group 1 wins.
Redoutable Heart was Waller’s 65th city winner this season and could threaten his all-time record of 169 wins set last season. – Ray Thomas.