James McDonald and Chris Waller celebrated a major milestone at Flemington on Saturday, securing their 50th Group 1 victory together courtesy of another dominant display from Via Sistina in the Group 1 Champions Stakes.
The daughter of Fastnet Rock, sent out a $1.70 favourite despite heavy conditions, once again proved her class. McDonald had her travelling smoothly throughout before easing her into clear running at the top of the straight, and from there the result was never in doubt.
Zambardo ($16) and Tom Kitten ($9) attempted to make late ground, but neither threatened as Via Sistina powered clear to record her 10th Group 1 win under the McDonald–Waller partnership.
Remarkably, a fifth of the pair’s 50 elite-level successes have come with Via Sistina since her Australian debut in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes last year.
“He (Waller) has been a great supporter of mine and I’m happy to be a part of his team when you ride superstars like this, it’s always a pleasure,” McDonald said.
“How good are they? They just prep them up beautifully, Waller and his team. She was cool today, real cool.
“He’s had my back from day dot and continuously has my back. We work wonderfully together and he’s an absolute genius. I can’t put into words how good he is.
“How he preps these horses up. Every time he says one is improving, it’s improving. He said that about Via today and he was spot on.”
Waller said the confidence and trust between the pair continues to fuel success at the highest level.
“It makes my job and possibly his job that little bit easier,” Waller said.
“There’s no pressure, no pre-race stress, and I didn’t even give any instructions. He said, ‘I’ll go and ride her like Hughie used to ride Winx’, the best horse in the race, give her some clean air.
“And I said, ‘that sounds good to me’.
“He’s great to work with. That’s a privilege in itself. The relationship works well. There’s less pressure when you trust each other. I’d go to war with him, and he’d do the same for me.”
