Waller-McDonald relationship cemented with 50th Group One
Dennis Ryan - Raceform • November 28th, 2025 3:00 PM • 5 min read
Of all their joint milestones in the heady atmosphere of elite Australian racing, perhaps the most notable achieved by Chris Waller and James McDonald came at Flemington earlier this month.
Combining with Australian Horse of the Year Via Sistina on the final day of Melbourne Cup week, the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame duo took their tally of Group One wins together to 50, underlining something already acknowledged, that they’re one of racing’s most potent partnerships.
That was the pair’s ninth time in the Group One frame with the best galloper currently racing in Australia, replicating their respective tallies with earlier Australian Horses of the Year Verry Elleegant and Nature Strip.
When dual Cox Plate winner Via Sistina added a second Champions Stakes at Flemington on November 8, it took her trainer’s Group One tally to 186, while for McDonald it was the 122nd.
Incredibly, their landmark 50th win together came on the 10th anniversary of their first with Delectation in the Gr.1 Darley (Champions) Sprint at the end of Melbourne Cup week in 2015.
Statistics don’t tell the whole story of New Zealand’s most successful trainer and jockey exports, but they still deserve analysis. Waller’s 186 Group One wins place him third behind Australian training legends Tommy Smith and Bart Cummings, whose respective careers ended when both were on 246 Group Ones.
Smith’s name also features at the top of the trainer-jockey partnership table, having combined midway through last century with jockey legend George Moore to win 54 Group One races. Moore, a champion jockey initially in his home country and then in Europe, is third on the list of Australian Group One-winning jockeys with 124, two ahead of McDonald and five behind Damien Oliver’s record 129.
Taking time to reflect on the success they’ve had together, Waller attributes much of that success to his and McDonald’s formative years – albeit two decades apart – in rural New Zealand.
“Australia’s home for me now but I’ll always be a New Zealander and forever grateful for the upbringing and the rural life that has helped make a difference to my career, and no doubt James’s as well,” says 52-year-old Waller.
He was already well-established in Sydney training ranks when McDonald arrived on the scene in 2012, having claimed his first Group One with Triple Honour in the Doncaster Handicap at Randwick in April 2008.
Another connection between the two is that McDonald’s career-first Group One win had come just three weeks earlier when, as a 16-year-old in his very first season, he had partnered Special Mission in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes at Te Aroha.
McDonald wasted no time proving himself in Sydney, and it was almost inevitable that as the leading forces in their respective spheres, he and Waller would eventually join forces.
“It was simply seeing him ride lots of winners for other trainers in Sydney, in particular John O’Shea, who was very pro James,” Waller recalls. “I already had associations with other jockeys, particularly Hugh Bowman, but it was pretty obvious to see James making a good impact and continuing to learn, just a great competitor, so it was only a matter of time before we needed to start joining up with him as well.
“Getting an opportunity in races like the Darley Sprint was good timing, like he wasn’t the profile jockey that he is now but he had great hands, he was a good student of form, passionate for racing, his respect for racing, and that hasn’t changed along the way.”
Waller and McDonald have shared some of Australian racing’s greatest moments together and of all the quality horses that have enabled them, three stand out from the crowd – and calling for an additional set of dynamics.
“Royal Ascot and Nature Strip was fantastic, and Verry Elleegant’s Melbourne Cup was great for both of us,” Waller said. “It certainly puts us in rare space in terms of being able to win such an important race and it’s amazing the follow-on to be seen as a Melbourne Cup-winning jockey or trainer, it’s an absolute honour to be part of it.
“Via Sistina, she’s just gone from strength to strength since being in Australia and James has coped very well with the pressure of that and those Horse of the Year titles. All three horses have been Australian Horse of the Year, and with that comes responsibility.
“He’s a great student of racing, whether it’s people or horses before him or current time. Regardless of where in the world racing’s on, he’s got a close eye on it. He knows what he or we need to do to strive to be better, and respect for those we’re competing against. He loves horses, he loves pedigrees, so it’s pretty special in so many ways.
“James does his form very well, my team does our form to the best of our ability, and nine times out of 10 it’s the same. James knows what to do on our horses, when plan B’s required, or plan C, and if things don’t work out there’s never a harsh word said. It’s just luck was against us today and we know we’ll bounce back very quickly if we do have an off day.”
Busy professional lives and the success that goes with it does not necessarily mean their lives overlap away from the track, as Waller explains.
“Our relationship does extend to personal friendship, but time constraints can be against it. It’s often just a drink at the airport, he’s got a young family, I’ve got a family a little bit older but still just reaching their teenage years, and post-race it’s about going home to enjoy family life and friends more so than celebrating.
“We’ve got a lot of owners, so it’s hard to celebrate with all of them. I choose more often than not that family comes first. James and I might catch up for a beer here or there, that’s about as far as we take it, we look forward to catching up each trackwork morning when he comes in, again we’ve got jobs to do and so many commitments, but I’m sure in time it will be an everlasting friendship.”
While Waller readily showers praise on McDonald and others who have been such a part of his success, he’s a lot more reserved in appraising his own achievements. However he does allow some self-reflection, in particular when lining himself up with two particular greats from the past.
“It does drive me to look at that number (of Group One wins) and it’s extraordinary that Tommy Smith and Bart Cummings both ended up with the same number (254). We’ve got momentum up and I’d love to see how I’m going with another 60-odd to go – maybe it would be fitting if I pulled up one short, or if there’s still plenty of life in me, I’ll keep going a bit beyond them.
“But they’re different eras, and I’m sure if they were still training now I wouldn’t be training as many Group One winners. I’ve got the utmost respect for those trainers and many others who don’t get the same opportunities that I get. I’m in a very fortunate position to have a great team of owners and staff who make it all work.”
Neither Waller or McDonald will ever forget their origins, nor disregard the significance of being members of the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame – in McDonald’s case the youngest human inductee at age 29 to make the elite list in 2021.
“I know how much being inducted to the Racing Hall of Fame meant to me,” says Waller. “I didn’t do much in New Zealand – in fact nothing of significance – so to still be recognised by New Zealand makes me very proud.
“I saw the same thing when James was inducted and how emotional he got, and it’s those true emotions that make James special. If ever you see me showing emotion on the racetrack it’s coming from my heart and knowing where I’ve come from, so yes, we’re both very proud Kiwis.”
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