Thoroughbred horseracing trainers have a very difficult but passionate profession. There is no way you can compete in the elite sport of horseracing if you do not have a love and understanding of horses. Here is a list of some of the Australian horse trainers that were monumentally successful due to, not only their love of the sport but their love and respect for the animals.
Etienne L. de Mestre
The first person on this list has to be Etienne Livingston de Mestre who was one of the first and foremost racing identities in Australian horseracing. He was born in Sydney in 1832 and was the trainer of thoroughbred horse Archer, who won the inaugural Melbourne Cup in 1861 and the next year in 1862. He had an issue with the system of horseracing and swore to never race in Victoria again but came back in 1867, where he won the Melbourne Cup again with thoroughbred stallion Tim Whiffler, ridden by notable jockey John “Old Jack” Driscoll. If you wanted some Flemington tips back then, then this man would have been the one to talk to. Mestre won the Melbourne Cup twice more in 1877 with the thoroughbred Chester, ridden by P. Pigott, and the following year with Calamia, ridden by T. Brown. This means, as a trainer, he had won the Melbourne Cup four times, a record that was held for 99 years.
Bart Cummings
One of the proverbial juggernauts of thoroughbred horse racing, legendary trainer Bart Cummings was a force to be reckoned with. He had been training horses since the 1950s and saw his first significant success in 1958 when his horse Stormy Passage won the Group 1 South Australian Derby. His first of twelve Melbourne Cup wins was in 1965 with the New Zealand-bred mare Light Fingers, ridden by champion jockey Roy “The Professor” Higgins. His final win was in 2008 with Australian thoroughbred Viewed, ridden by jockey Blake Shinn. Cummings’ other achievements include winning the VRC Oaks nine times and the Caulfield Cup seven times.
Chris Waller
Although he is New Zealand born, one of the best current trainers in Australia is Chris Waller who won his first Melbourne Cup in 2021 with Verry Elleegant who was ridden by James McDonald. Waller has had 125 Group 1 victories so far, cemented with Kolding’s win of the All Aged Stakes at the Royal Randwick Racecourse. He is also well known for training champion thoroughbred Winx who had a record-breaking winning streak of 31 wins in a row before retiring. Waller has since been inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame and the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Gai Waterhouse
The “first lady of Australian racing” has certainly earned that nickname. Daughter of legendary trainer TJ Smith, Waterhouse has created an entire training empire of her own. Born in 1954, Waterhouse was brought up around the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. She was the trainer of Floriente who won the 2013 Melbourne Cup and thus became the first woman to train a winner of the race. She was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for “outstanding contribution to thoroughbred racing” in 2000 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2018. She has trained over 147 Group 1 winners so far and shows no signs of ending her successful career.
