Stradbroke trailblazer calls time

By Glenn Davis

Natalie McCall has called time on her training career, but she will always hold a place in racing history as the first woman to train a Stradbroke Handicap winner.

McCall claimed the honour with her only Group 1 victory, with River Lad in the 2014 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm.

Australia’s first lady of racing Gai Waterhouse, who with co-trainer Adrian Bott, later joined McCall when she won Queensland’s richest sprint with Alligator Blood four years ago.

River Lad’s Stradbroke victory wasn’t McCall’s only taste of Group 1 success as she once strapped for champion Sydney trainer John Hawkes and led in Crawl in his Stradbroke Handicap win in 2001.

After nearly two decades of the training grind, the 46-year-old McCall has decided to quit training and is looking for a career change.

“I’ve got no regrets finishing up. I’m just burnt out and tired,” McCall said.

“There are no plans in the pipeline, so I’ll just take the rest of the year off and see what happens. I’m just exhausted and I’m looking forward to spending more time with the family.

“When you’re a trainer, you don’t get to enjoy yourself much.

“If you go out to dinner, you know you can’t stay long as you’ve got to get up early the next morning.”

McCall had around 15 horses on her books when she finished up, but had up to 80 at the peak of her training career.

“I’ve got no formal education, but I’d like to stay in the racing industry in some capacity,” she said.

“I don‘t want to be a foreman or anything like that, but I’d like to be involved in an administration role if possible or even a racing manager.”

McCall was destined to become a trainer as racing is in her blood.

The Toowoomba-born McCall is the daughter of former Caloundra trainer Ray McCall, who trained River Lad’s sire Top Echelon.

After leaving school, she started working in the offices at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club while helping her father with stable chores.

“While I was at school, I did some work experience at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club working in their office,” McCall said.

“I was working at the club while I was riding trackwork for Dad when he had a heart attack and needed a bypass.

“I then decided to leave the club and started working full-time helping Dad around the stables.

“I had ridden trackwork since I was a 15-year-old.”

Among her best wins outside the Stradbroke came from Tiger Shark who won the Listed Mick Dittman Plate and Darby McCarthy at Doomben in 2024 while Colour Charge won a Listed Members' Cup and Rockhampton Cup in 2017.

She also won a Listed race with Lady Echelon in 2013.

McCall saddled her last starter when Cuesta finished last in a Benchmark race at the Sunshine Coast on September 27.