Master trainer Chris Waller has no regrets in bypassing the Melbourne Cup with Australia’s queen of the turf Via Sistina after she claimed another major spring prize for record-breaking jockey James McDonald.
On a day that celebrated the stars of the track, there was a sad ending to the racing career of “the people’s horse”, Pride Of Jenni, who was retired after bleeding from both nostrils in the Champions Mile won by another popular galloper, Mr Brightside.
James McDonald wins the group 1 Champions Stakes at Flemington. Credit: Getty Images
The final meeting of Flemington’s famous carnival, and indeed the whole four days, belonged to McDonald, who, aboard Via Sistina, equalled his previous Cup week best of 10 wins as they blitzed the country’s best horses in the $3 million Champions Stakes.
If there was a regret in the week …