Winning the annual race with a horse owned by his biggest supporter and named in his honour has given Chris Waller a poignant moment at Rosehill.
Long before he was Sydney’s premier trainer and Australia’s leading Group One trainer, Waller received a boost to his fledgling career when Bob Ingham anointed him to head his new venture after he sold his Woodlands operation to Sheikh Mohammed.
Japonisme
Each year the Ingham family sponsors a race and on Saturday their two-year-old Japonisme won the Bob Ingham Handicap (1100m).
“It means a lot to win with one of the Inghams’ horses,” Waller said.
“A lot of the family is here today.
“They make a great contribution to Australian racing and I’m very proud to be associated with them.
“I speak to Mr Ingham each week and he is so supportive and gives me so much confidence.
“He has been through everything in racing – all the dry spells and all the good times.”
More good times may well be ahead for Japonisme ($5), which scored his second win from two starts when he overhauled the favourite King’s Troop ($2.20) to win by a length.
“This is a great time of year when the two-year-olds start to tell us whether they can take the next step at three,” Waller said.
“These late season races are a stepping stone to bigger things and hopefully they can make the grade.”
Japonisme was ridden by visiting New Zealand apprentice Rory Hutchings, while earlier Glyn Schofield steered the Waller-trained import Soviet Courage to a 2400m-win in a battle of tactics in a four-horse field.
Schofield had Soviet Courage ($2.80 favourite) in the second pair and made his move in the straight with his mount striding to a 1-1/4 length win over Space ($17).
