Comment: Chris Waller’s Maverick does the job again

Ben Dorries says the glory for Via Sistina’s outrageous Cox Plate triumph must also belong to a passionate man behind the scenes who is the heart and soul of what makes racing great.

James McDonald returns triumphant after scoring the Cox Plate on Via Sistina. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images.

Chris Harwood once penned a tune to Verry Elleegant and he would have been singing from the rooftops as Via Sistina stamped her greatness with an outrageous Cox Plate triumph.

James McDonald, who you could argue is now Australia’s No. 1 sportsman after his third successive Cox Plate and 100th Group 1 triumph, rightly took the glory.

But it was Harwood, a former English jockey who came to Australia on a whim and switched to riding trackwork, who was the wind beneath Via Sistina’s wings.

Without Harwood’s say-so, the expensive Yulong mare may not have been racing in the Cox Plate.

READ: What the jockeys said: 2024 Cox Plate

It was Sydney-based Harwood who Chris Waller flew to Melbourne during the week to put Via Sistina through her paces after the drama of Tuesday’s trackwork gallop where she tripped and tossed McDonald and did an unplanned riderless three laps of The Valley track.

Chris Harwood (right) with Espiona and Chris Waller. Picture: Jeremy Piper.

Waller, the professor of Australian horse racing who leaves no stone unturned and no box unticked, wanted Harwood to give Via Sistina the green light to race and make sure she was the same horse he knows so well.

Perhaps Via Sistina would have started shorter than $5 in the Cox Plate if more punters had heeded Harwood’s words after dismounting that day: “I’ll be honest with you, I reckon it might have even brought her on, livened her up a little bit.”

Waller then had extra confidence to deploy Via Sistina in the Cox Plate, knowing that Harwood was no man’s fool and had ridden some of the trainer’s biggest stars including Winx and Verry Elleegant in trackwork gallops.

Harwood has an incredible passion for horses, once even picking up his guitar and crooning a tune he had written about another Waller champion, Verry Elleegant.

Verry Elleegant’s regular rider Chris Harwood shares with us a song he’s written about the star mare. (Story in the link below)https://t.co/pzUuS6gk5p@SkyRacingAU@7horseracing@LoveRacingNZ@[e-mail]/cezVAg5w9v

— Chris Waller Racing (@cwallerracing) April 16, 2021

Harwood and his ilk are the type of highly skilled and fastidious operators behind the scenes who Waller is talking about when he refers to his “team” and often then bursts into tears.

These are the type of caring horse lovers who the anti-racing brigade don’t want us to know about.

While Harwood quietly went about his business, the Channel 7 coverage of Cox Plate day was front and centre and it was fabulous.

As racing faces challenges on the wagering front, it needs to find new ways to showcase its best and brightest products.

Give us more of miked-up trainers chatting with jockeys, as we saw with Harry Eustace and Blake Shinn before their Cox Plate mission with Docklands.

Eustace may not have given away any state secrets but the candid, fly-on-the-wall nature of the pow-wow between trainer and jockey was terrific stuff for viewers.

James McDonald and Trainer Chris Waller celebrate spraying champagne after Via Sistina won the Cox Plate. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images.

It remains to be seen what job Channel 9 will do when they take over for Melbourne Cup week.

But here’s a tip.

Showcase the stories of the best horses and racing personalities as well as those behind the scenes yarns – like Harwood – and you will be onto a winner.

Leave the celebrities in their marquees to drink their champagne, as the vast majority of us couldn’t give a hoot what expensive fashion brand they are wearing or what horse they are backing in the Melbourne Cup.

Let’s hero the horses and the jockeys and trainers. Racing has much to be proud of and puff its chest out about.

This was a Cox Plate for the ages, with storylines as captivating as those in a J.K. Rowling or Agatha Christie novel.

It’s hard to believe the Melbourne Cup will be as good, but we live in hope.

Originally published as Comment: Chris Waller’s Maverick does the job again