Chris Waller gives hobby trainer reason to believe he can complete Stradbroke fairytale
As he counts down the days to a fairytale crack at the 2025 Stradbroke Handicap, larrikin Brisbane hobby trainer Craig Cousins has the words of Chris Waller ringing in his ears.
It will be a David versus Goliath battle in the Stradbroke as 60-year-old Cousins, who only has three horses in work, takes on some of racing's biggest names.
Cousins knows he has a good horse and a good Stradbroke chance with home-bred hero The Inflictor, who is a $15 chance in Queensland's most prestigious race on Saturday week.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The Inflictor qualified for the Stradbroke by scoring a golden ticket when winning The Gateway at Eagle Farm and he rubber-stamped his claims by scoring at Doomben last month with Nash Rawiller in the saddle.
Enter Waller, who has infused Cousins with extra confidence and belief heading into the $3m Stradbroke.
• Benagil still Oaks benchmark 'if she brings her A-game'
'I had never met Chris Waller before, I had just seen him from a distance and that was about it,' Cousins said.
'He's obviously a master at what he does.
'I was walking around after the race the other day and I heard someone yelling, 'Craig, Craig'.
'I recognised the voice and it was Chris Waller. He shook my hand and congratulated me.
'Chris said, 'this is what racing is about, this is a great story'. He said he wished me all the best for the Stradbroke.
'I told Chris he would probably have a good Stradbroke horse himself.
'He said, 'don't worry about mine Craig, yours is a genuine chance'.'
Four-year-old The Inflictor has won $499,000 in prizemoney and will add another $1.8m to that haul if he scores the Group 1 Stradbroke at Eagle Farm.
It would be one of the greatest stories in Stradbroke history.
• 'You'll see the best of her Saturday': Vandyke's warning to Oaks rivals
Cousins juggles his day job as a truck driver with his work training horses but will put the handbrakes on the truck driving job next week so he can enjoy Stradbroke week.
He has even bought himself a new suit for Stradbroke week and several new ties.
He plans to lap up the week and go to Breakfast With The Stars at Eagle Farm on Tuesday as well as the barrier draw function at The Star on Tuesday night.
'Life wouldn't change too much if I won the Stradbroke, but it would be a bloody good feeling,' Cousins said.
'My horse's win the other day was really impressive, I didn't realise how impressive it was until I watched a replay later.
'I can only have three horses at the one time, if I have any more it's too hard doing it one-out.
'I do get an occasional hand off different friends, but most of the time it's just me.
'This horse will have a red-hot go in the Stradbroke.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
41 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Lindsay Park's second seed joins vaunted attack on Stradbroke Handicap
Lindsay Park may never get a better chance to break its Stradbroke Handicap duck after co-trainer Ben Hayes gave Rise At Dawn the green light to join a vaunted attack on Queensland's greatest race. The famous racing dynasty has never won the Stradbroke but has raging $2.80 favourite War Machine, the sizzling winner of the BRC Sprint, and $8 second betting fancy Rise At Dawn. Rise At Dawn finished 2-1/2 lengths off Joliestar in Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup and Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, is keen to give him a Group 1 shot seven days later. Rise At Dawn carried 59kg in the Kingsford Smith Cup, but now plunges to 52.5kg in the Stradbroke. 'I was quite happy with his run on Saturday as he was racing at short of his best trip and was racing at weight-for-age against some of the best sprinters in Australia,' Hayes said. 'He sat in behind the speed, he held his run right to the line and looks to have pulled up well. 'He now drops a stack in weight so that's a huge thing.' There have been few Stradbroke contenders in history who have been a shorter price than what War Machine is six days out from the great race. Hayes indicated War Machine had improved from the last time he was seen at the races, when blowing away his opposition and stamping his Stradbroke ticket when dominating his rivals by 2-3/4 lengths in the BRC Sprint. Hayes said both War Machine and Rise At Dawn had golden chances in the $3 million Group 1 handicap. 'Fingers crossed, you can have the two favourites but you can still get beat, but to be honest I couldn't be happier with both of these horses,' Hayes said. 'Either one of them could win. 'The big boy (War Machine) is well. 'His last run was a perfect tune-up for the Straddy and he is a very progressive horse who gets in with 53kg. 'He's a horse who is a bit lazy in trackwork, like Mr Brightside, but he turns up race day.' * Roughie king Maloney strikes again with Derby pick-up ride In other Stradbroke-related news: * Chris Waller gave boom three-year-old colt Angel Capital an exhibition gallop at the Gold Coast races on Saturday. It is likely Angel Capital would make the Stradbroke final field cut-off, but Waller is undecided about whether to race the Yulong owned youngster. * Matt Dale is strongly considering giving evergreen veteran Front Page a shot at the Stradbroke after winning the Moreton Cup on Saturday. Connections would need to pay a hefty late entry fee and Dale will decide in the next 24 years whether to unleash the rising nine-year-old on the Stradbroke. Dale has never tested Front Page over 1400m but the prospect of a weaker Stradbroke and a week of fine weather may convince connections to deploy the proven Group 1 performer. * Tony Gollan is holding out hope that Transatlantic will sneak into the Stradbroke field. Transatlantic will jump over other contenders in the ballot order after his win in the Listed Spear Chief Handicap on Saturday at Eagle Farm. After narrowly missing the Stradbroke field with Antino and Freedom Rally in the last two years, Gollan hopes Transatlantic has done enough to make the field. He is now a $13 chance. * Trainer Rob Heathcote says Rothfire 'trotted up 95 per cent sound' on Sunday morning in his recovery from a foot injury. 'He's only a slim chance of racing in the Straddy, but he's still a chance,' Heathcote said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Josh Hazlewood declares he is in top form ahead of Australia vs South Africa World Test Championship final
Buoyed by an outstanding IPL, Australia quick Josh Hazlewood feels he is bowling better than at any point in his decorated career. Struck down by niggling injuries in recent years, Hazlewood could be forgiven for starting to taper, having already taken 279 wickets from 72 Tests. Follow every ball of the World Test Championship final with the ABC Sport live blog, and the live commentary between Australia and South Africa at Lord's. But the fit-again 34-year-old is going to give selectors significant headaches when picking the team for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, starting on Wednesday. It is an identical dilemma to two years ago when Scott Boland was chosen ahead of Hazlewood, who had been recovering from side issues, for the ultimately successful decider against India. "I was quite close last time, I just had more of an interrupted IPL leading into that and wasn't quite up to scratch," Hazlewood said on Saturday at Australia's training base in Beckenham. "But I feel in a much better place this time around, and I think in any format, my numbers over the last two years have been pretty good, so I've got a lot to fall back on. "Skill wise, I still feel like I'm bowling the best I have in my career and it's just a matter of the body holding up, which it has been in the last few months." Hazlewood managed just two Tests last summer, breaking down at the Gabba with a calf injury, as Australia won back the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time in a decade. The right-armer also missed the two-Test trip to Sri Lanka, played on spin-friendly pitches, to make sure he was ready to perform later in the year. Although he did suffer a slight shoulder injury, Hazlewood ultimately played a starring role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's breakthrough IPL title triumph last Tuesday. Hazlewood, who also won an IPL title with Chennai in 2021, finished with 22 wickets for the tournament — the third most by any bowler. Coming off a T20 workload, he has less than a week to get ready for his first Test since December. "I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) final in Ahmedabad, in different weather than (England's), so it was quite a tough session," Hazlewood said. "Then, every time you play a game in IPL, you're probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in when you factor in warm-ups." AAP
Mercury
an hour ago
- Mercury
Rise At Dawn given the go ahead for the Stradbroke
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Lindsay Park may never get a better chance to break its Stradbroke Handicap duck after co-trainer Ben Hayes gave Rise At Dawn the green light to join a vaunted attack on Queensland's greatest race. The famous racing dynasty has never won the Stradbroke but has raging $2.80 favourite War Machine, the sizzling winner of the BRC Sprint, and $8 second betting fancy Rise At Dawn. Rise At Dawn finished 2-1/2 lengths off Joliestar in Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup and Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, is keen to give him a Group 1 shot seven days later. Rise At Dawn carried 59kg in the Kingsford Smith Cup, but now plunges to 52.5kg in the Stradbroke. 'I was quite happy with his run on Saturday as he was racing at short of his best trip and was racing at weight-for-age against some of the best sprinters in Australia,' Hayes said. 'He sat in behind the speed, he held his run right to the line and looks to have pulled up well. 'He now drops a stack in weight so that's a huge thing.' READ: Zac on rare quest to score consecutive Stradbroke Handicaps Can Ben, Will and JD Hayes (L to R) upstage dad David Hayes, pictured here with his wife and the boys mum Prue Hayes, by winning a Stradbroke Handicap on Saturday? Photo :. There have been few Stradbroke contenders in history who have been a shorter price than what War Machine is six days out from the great race. Hayes indicated War Machine had improved from the last time he was seen at the races, when blowing away his opposition and stamping his Stradbroke ticket when dominating his rivals by 2-3/4 lengths in the BRC Sprint. Hayes said both War Machine and Rise At Dawn had golden chances in the $3 million Group 1 handicap. READ: Inquiry into jockey altercation set to resume in Stradbroke week 'Fingers crossed, you can have the two favourites but you can still get beat, but to be honest I couldn't be happier with both of these horses,' Hayes said. 'Either one of them could win. 'The big boy (War Machine) is well. 'His last run was a perfect tune-up for the Straddy and he is a very progressive horse who gets in with 53kg. 'He's a horse who is a bit lazy in trackwork, like Mr Brightside, but he turns up race day.' War Machine was elevated to Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap favouritism after his dominant win in the BRC Sprint. Picture: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography. * Roughie king Maloney strikes again with Derby pick-up ride In other Stradbroke-related news: * Chris Waller gave boom three-year-old colt Angel Capital an exhibition gallop at the Gold Coast races on Saturday. It is likely Angel Capital would make the Stradbroke final field cut-off, but Waller is undecided about whether to race the Yulong owned youngster. * Matt Dale is strongly considering giving evergreen veteran Front Page a shot at the Stradbroke after winning the Moreton Cup on Saturday. Connections would need to pay a hefty late entry fee and Dale will decide in the next 24 years whether to unleash the rising nine-year-old on the Stradbroke. Dale has never tested Front Page over 1400m but the prospect of a weaker Stradbroke and a week of fine weather may convince connections to deploy the proven Group 1 performer. * Tony Gollan is holding out hope that Transatlantic will sneak into the Stradbroke field. Transatlantic will jump over other contenders in the ballot order after his win in the Listed Spear Chief Handicap on Saturday at Eagle Farm. After narrowly missing the Stradbroke field with Antino and Freedom Rally in the last two years, Gollan hopes Transatlantic has done enough to make the field. He is now a $13 chance. * Trainer Rob Heathcote says Rothfire 'trotted up 95 per cent sound' on Sunday morning in his recovery from a foot injury. 'He's only a slim chance of racing in the Straddy, but he's still a chance,' Heathcote said. Originally published as Lindsay Park's second seed joins vaunted attack on Stradbroke Handicap
