Episode 371: Kim Waugh

It’s a pity we didn’t get to talk to Kim about her stunning Rosehill double with French Bonnet and Kingsheir on Saturday. This interview was recorded the previous day shortly after she’d arrived home from the Gosford trials. Kim talks about the frustration trainers are experiencing with the neverending run of wet tracks in Sydney.  She talks about the twenty hectare property at Jilliby where all of her horses are spelled and pre-trained before going into her Wyong stables. Sometimes they go back to the property for a freshen up. Kim talks of the recently retired Trumbull, one of her all time favourites. She says he hasn’t been the same horse since suffering a heart arrhythmia last year. The successful trainer talks of her childhood obsession with horses and early days in pony club. Kim talks of her introduction to harness racing and her first boss, the extraordinary horseman Charlie Parsons. Anybody in the district who had a problem horse went to Charlie Parsons. She talks of her first winning drive and her initial winner at Harold Park. Kim pays tribute to the best harness horse she ever drove- a pint sized mare called Ranji Bill who became a great favourite with the huge Harold Park crowds of the day. She nominates the race driver who became her role model. Kim’s one of few trainers to win their very first race on a metropolitan track. She’s never forgotten the Canterbury midweek win by Prince O Jazz. She talks of the first really nice horse she got to train, the consistent Never True with whom she won 9 races including 5 in town. Deeply entrenched in her affections is the durable Catapult (not to be confused with a current competitor of the same name). Kim won 11 races with the son of Luskin Star including a Grafton Cup. We’ve devoted extra time for Kim’s tribute to her precious Gr 1 winner Mahtoum after whom the Jilliby property is named. The trainer takes us through the many happy times she had with the durable stayer.  Kim acknowledges good performers Enforced and Spinning Con and talks of her relentless efforts to win a Provincial Championship Final.  She talks of current hopefuls Conrad and Great News and her strike rate in the Midway series. French Bonnet’s win last Saturday was her fifth, and takes her to the top of the Midway trainer’s ladder. Kim pays tribute to her husband of 17 years, the iconic Australian cricketer Mark Waugh.  She talks of her long time friend and racing manager Robyn Hartney.  Kim has some nice things to say about her former apprentice Jay Ford who still rides regularly for the stable. Finally to her beloved Bully, the donkey whose mother rejected him at birth. The little fellow’s antics are frequently reported by Kim on social media. We hear more about the life of Bully.