Brett Killion taking Waller stable to lofty heights

By Andrew Smith

He is the man who has been key to some of master trainer Chris Waller’s greatest victories in the Sunshine State.

But Brett Killion has been quick to reiterate just how much of a team effort it is behind the scenes in preparing some of the country’s top gallopers.

The man affectionately known as “Lofty” has been the foreperson for Waller’s Gold Coast satellite stable since 2020.

His decades of hard work in the caper saw him awarded with the Dedication to Racing Award at the recent Australian Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (ATIEA) ceremony on the Gold Coast.

The quietly-spoken Killion said he had been humbled to join the list of previous winners which included Australian thoroughbred industry legends.

“It was very nice, and it wasn't expected, even when they did the shortlist and I made the final two,” Killion said.

“I didn’t think too much about, I just assumed I wouldn't get it, because there's literally thousands of people out there that that are worthy of that sort of recognition.

“I've worked alongside quite a few of the recipients over the years in Reg Fleming, the late John Brady, Paul Reed, Mark Newnham, and Johnny Livingstone.

“I hold all those guys in such high regard so that was nice to be mentioned in that same breath.”

Hailing from Sydney originally, the 48-year-old got his start in the industry with legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse in the 1990s.

After almost two decades working in Sydney, he moved north to work alongside head trainer John Thomspon at the Patinack Farm in 2011.

A three-year stint with Godolphin followed that, before Killion made the permanent move to Queensland in 2017 to work in the newly-opened Gold Coast operation.

As the stable’s main man, he is in constant communication with the Sydney-based Waller through emails and weekly Facetime calls.

Killion said the master trainer’s desire to leave no stone unturned in the preparation of their gallopers was one of the big keys to success.

“My role is to communicate with him and make sure the mornings go as planned, just direct everyone around, and just have the morning flow consistently with how Chris likes them,” Killion said.

“Up here, we try to mirror our runs in Sydney and Melbourne, so the horses that come here, they're totally familiar with it.

“There’s no detail too small you can bother Chris with, he’ll always get back to you about it.

“He's so level-headed, common sense just prevails in the end of every situation, and everyone will tell you that his attention to detail is amazing.

“It fine tunes you and it sharpens your pen - you've got to be on the ball and up to speed with everything as well.”

“I like to see every horse individually before everyone gets here in the morning, and it just might remind you of something, or you’ll just pick up something small, but it can all make a difference.”

The stables just next to the Gold Coast Turf Club house around 40 boxes, with a staff of about 15.

Killion was keen to pay tribute to the team behind him, with the ATIEA designed to celebrate the people whose work sustain the national thoroughbred industry.

“Yeah you’ve got to have good staff - they're the ones who are out the back on race day,” Killion said.

“They're not out the front getting the accolades or anything like that, but they're here in the morning rain, hail, or shine.

“They don't complain, they just get in, they get the job done.

“I know every area of racing is important, but I think that the ones behind the scenes play just as bigger part as anyone.”

Away from the Group 1 victories and riches of the Queensland Racing Carnival and Magic Millions, Killion is the regular man on the ground at the midweek meetings of Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.

He explained how the nickname bestowed on him when he was just starting out may lead to some issues if he was to ever explore going out on his own in the training caper.

“The very first day I walked into Tulloch Lodge 30 years ago, John O'Shea was the foreman there,” Killion explained.

“He said, ‘Oh, we've already got a Brett, so you're going to have to be Lofty,’ and that was it.

“That was my first two minutes in a stable, and it just stuck from day one, and most people don't even know my real name.

“It’s probably why I can't go out and train, no one would know who it is (laughs)”

The smooth operation of the Gold Coast stable is obviously paying dividends for Waller who racked up a remarkable 200^th Group 1 victory when Birdman took home the Doomben Cup last month.

The team has also posted 63 victories in Queensland this campaign, and will be aiming for more Group 1 glory in this week's $3 million Stradbroke Handicap.

Champion jockey James McDonald has been booked to ride Fangirl, while fellow stable star Sixties is the first emergency as of Monday morning.