Waverley Star (foaled 1982) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse who is best remembered for finishing second to

Bonecrusher Bonecrusher may refer to: * Bone crusher, a machine used to crush animal bones * Bonecrusher (horse), a New Zealand racehorse * Bonecrusher (Transformers), a fictional robot supervillain character in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. * ...

in the 1986

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

– widely referred to as the 'race of the century'. Waverley Star, who was known as Our Waverley Star in Australia to distinguish him from a 1976 foaling of the same name, won his maiden race as a three-year-old on 30 November 1985 at

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...

. Prior to his first visit to Australia, for the Cox Plate, he had 13 starts for 10 wins and 2 placings in New Zealand. This included: * 2nd in the Castlemaine XXXX Easter Stakes (Group One 1600m) behind Cosmetique, with Infinite Secret third. * 1st in the Television New Zealand Stakes (Group Two 2000m WFA) beating Solveig and Santanea * 1st in the Admiralty Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie on 23 August 1986 when he beat Matthew Ryan with Bonecrusher third. In the Cox Plate, he was installed 3/1 second-favourite behind fellow New Zealander Bonecrusher, who was 6/4-on. With 800 metres to run in the Cox Plate,

Lance O'Sullivan Lance Anthony O'Sullivan (born 28 August 1963 in New Zealand) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and former champion jockey in New Zealand. Lance is the son of premiership winning horse trainer Dave O’Sullivan and the brother of Paul O'Sulliv ...

took Waverley Star to the lead, with Gary Stewart on Bonecrusher right behind him. The two horses then raced well clear of the field, with little between them for the remainder of the race, and at the post, Bonecrusher was narrowly in front. The Filbert placed third to make a New Zealand trifecta. He won one of the lead-ups to the 1986

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

, in which he finished fifth behind

Jupiter Island Jupiter Island is a barrier island on the coast of Martin and Palm Beach counties, Florida. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the St. Lucie Inlet, on the west by the Indian River, and on the south by the Jupiter ...

(GB), Allez Milord (USA) and two Japanese horses. Waverley Star had a further 20 starts after the Cox Plate, for three wins including the

Chipping Norton Stakes The Chipping Norton Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, run at weight for age, over a distance of 1600 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in February or March. Prizem ...

in March 1987 beating Diamond Shower and Abit Leica. He was then placed second in both the 1987

Rawson Stakes The Ranvet Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of 2,000 metres, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize money is A$7 ...

(2000m) and

Tancred Stakes H E Tancred Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, run over 2,400 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. The prize money for the event is A$1,5 ...

(2400m), carrying 57kg, easily beaten on both occasions by Myocard who carried 53kg and 52kg respectively. He had his final start in June 1989, as a six-year-old, after failing to recapture his best form. Waverley Star died in 2015.

References

External links

Bonecrusher Scrapbook

Pedigree of Waverley Star

References

External links

See also