The elevation of Colin Hayes AM OBE to Legend status and the induction of Chris Waller, Malcolm Johnston, John Size and W.A. Smith to the Hall of Fame will be highlights of this week's 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame is one of the racing industry’s highest honours, acknowledging equine and human heroes of the turf who have achieved greatness throughout their careers.
On Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, Racing NSW will host the 2018 Australian Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at a star-studded event.
Esteemed trainer Colin Hayes, already a member of the Hall of Fame, will join the likes of Phar Lap, Bart Cummings and Tommy Smith in receiving the highest possible accolade as a Legend of the Hall of Fame.
Hayes was the winner of 28 Adelaide and 13 Melbourne training premierships in an historic career that included a grand total of 5,333 wins.
Sydney’s champion trainer Chris Waller will also be inducted, having taken all before him winning seven successive Sydney premierships in emphatic style.
Of course, Waller trains the world’s best racehorse Winx, a winner of her past 25 starts and a mare that has accumulated in excess of $16 million in prizemoney.
“To receive such an accolade and to be held in the esteemed company of recently inducted trainers such as Bart Cummings, Tommy Smith, Colin Hayes, Jack Denham, and the many other outstanding trainers past and present who have been inducted, all I can say is that I am truly humbled and honoured,” Mr Waller said.
Malcolm Johnston partnered the great Kingston Town to 25 of his 30 victories and was also Sydney’s champion jockey three times, the first when still an apprentice during 1975-76 and was runner-up on four occasions.
After starting out at Sydney’s Royal Randwick, Australian trainer John Size has gone on to be crowned champion Hong Kong trainer a total of nine times.