Sophie Baker

by Renée Geelen

From Oakbank to Winx to Royal Ascot with Nature Strip, Sophie Baker had packed a lot into her career in horse racing. Baker works closely with Australia’s Champion Trainer Chris Waller in various roles for his stable including as his Executive Assistant, Media Relations, Owners Liaison and has more recently been involved in the management of “ladies only” fillies in the stable.

You could say that my role can be broken up into three or four divisions,” Baker said. “When I first started at Chris’s stable, he didn’t have an Executive Assistant. My role evolved from a more general administrative role into this one where I manage anything from his text messages to his calendar, booking his travel, meetings, lunches and organising functions around the stable. The second part is media which is split into traditional media and social media. I manage the stable’s social media accounts and assist with the traditional media in terms of ‘media calls’ prior to feature race meetings and liaising with media who are wanting to interview Chris.”

Baker is now managing the Waller stable’s ‘Ladies only’ fillies in the stable, specifically targeting the Magic Millions Racing Women’s Bonus and the Inglis Pink Bonus Series.

“Part of my job has always been to look after owners at the races and helping to ensure that owners have a good experience,” Baker said. “This, along with the Magic Millions Racing Women’s Bonus, led me to a conversation with Chris in relation to putting together a syndicate for Ladies only. I knew it would be lots of fun and had the potential to be successful. What could go wrong - we had the leading horse trainer training them and the leading bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster, helping select them. But I didn’t realise how much of a success it could be. Madame Pommery was the first filly for the Ladies group and what she achieved has been nothing short of unbelievable.”

Madame Pommery (No Nay Never-Cancel, by Exceed and Excel) was a $150,000 purchase from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and has gone on to win two of her ten starts, highlighted by the 2022 Gr.1 MRC Thousand Guineas, with earnings of more than $780,000. She is currently back in work after a very light autumn and should be back at the races early August.

“Firstly, you are hoping a horse will make it smoothly through the breaking in process and then into the stable. Then you are hoping the horse will not only get through to the trials and be competitive but then get to the races. To then win a race was wonderful but to win a Gr.1 … there were no words,” Baker said. She also designed her striking racing colours of purple with two champagne glasses and white sleeves. “I went with the champagne theme because who doesn’t love champagne right?” she said. “So, all the fillies have a name linked to champagne. The ownership groups are obviously made up of all ladies including Stephanie Waller who has been very supportive of the venture and 19 others, many of whom I have known for a number of years and more recently some new involvement. The ladies have a lot of fun at the races or events during the year. Racing is traditionally a man’s space with women often being the ‘and guest’ so it’s been incredibly satisfying to expand on that.”

The other fillies in the ‘Ladies only’ partnerships are She’s Got Veuve (Merchant Navy-Kirini, by Medaglia d’Oro) who has had two educational runs this season at two, unraced two-year-old filly Lady Bollinger (Brazen BeauUnique Magic, by Denman) who is set to make her debut any day and two unnamed rising two-year-olds.

Baker’s role with the Chris Waller stable over the last decade has meant working with some incredible racehorses, and one of Baker’s highlights was being given the opportunity to travel to Royal Ascot in 2022 with champion sprinter Nature Strip (NicconiStrikeline, by Desert Sun).

“I love Nature Strip. Even before he arrived here, I’d already been following him in other stables,” Baker said. Nature Strip started his career with trainer Robert Smerdon, winning three of four starts for him, then transferred to Robert Hickmott, winning his only start in that stable, before heading to John Sadler, where he ran second and fourth in his only two starts for him.

Darren Weir took over the trainer of Nature Strip in June 2018, winning four of his five starts before being transferred to Chris Waller.

Nature Strip had his first start for Waller in February 2019 and has won 14 of his 31 starts for the stable including his famous win in the Gr.1 King’s Stand Stakes at the 2022 Royal Ascot carnival.

“Before the COVID pandemic broke out, Chris joked that if Nature Strip ever went to Royal Ascot, I could go with him, so of course, when the trip was being planned, I reminded him of that,” Baker said. “At that point, a couple of people contacted the stable offering their services to help with the media for Royal Ascot, but it made sense for me to go, and I was offered the opportunity as I knew our system well. I already had experience in media with Winx as well as knowing the ownership group well.”

Baker documented every day of the trip, calling it the “Road to Royal Ascot”, which was a popular segment for the Waller social media platforms. Royal Ascot, and much of the British media, had wanted Nature Strip to be based at Newmarket, but Waller made the decision to stay at Charlie Hills’ Lambourn property which was a lot quieter than Newmarket. The team of six people plus Nature Strip and stablemate Home Affairs (I Am Invincible-Miss Interiors, by Flying Spur), were stabled from Charlie Hills’ horses due to quarantine protocols.

“The biggest difference was that the property had no walking machines, and the horses didn’t work on a circular track like here,” Baker said. “Instead, they’d hand walk and then hack for a couple of kilometres through bush and under trees to get to the uphill training track, giving them a good walk before working. They would then work out in an open field, before cooling down over the long walk home again. It was summer, such gorgeous weather and the long sunlight hours in England meant that it was already light at 5am when we arrived at the stables. Charlie Hills’ staff don’t start until 7am, and they thought we were early starting at 6am, while we thought we were starting late compared to home!”

The Lambourn experience was an eye-opener for Waller who has been an advocate for later starts at trackwork in Australia.

“Chris has always been pushing for later starts but more so since the Royal Ascot trip,” Baker said.

“There’s no lifestyle for the staff when they start at 4am or even earlier for some of our senior staff. Even Chris has said that often he finds himself going to bed before his children at night. It’s also potentially a safety issue with horses working in the dark, staff are tired, trainers can’t properly see the horses working, just the rider’s bright lights on their helmets.”

Nature Strip certainly enjoyed his Lambourn experience. The champion sprinter coped well with the long flight and settled in quickly to his new environment, his chestnut coat gleaming in the English summer sun during trackwork in preparation for the Gr.1 King’s Stand Stakes on the opening day of the Royal Ascot carnival.

“On the morning of the Kings Stand, I’ve never seen Chris so nervous, except for when Winx was racing,” Baker recalled. “There was so much interest in Nature Strip. We had all the British media and racing public watching, but it seemed all of Australia and New Zealand were following him closely. It was a lot of pressure.”

Royal Ascot is very different to racetracks in Australia as there are no tie-up stalls, every horse has its own box, and they need to walk about 2000m to the pre-parade ring where they stand in an open box to be saddled. There is so much glamour, tradition and theatre at Royal Ascot.

“When Nature Strip was getting saddled up, Prince Charles (now King Charles) and Camilla were standing nearby watching, and one of Nature Strip’s owners overheard Camilla say, ‘Wow, what a beautiful big horse he is’,” Baker said. “I tried to document as much as I could on the day but it was a bit of a whirlwind and once Nature Strip went down to the start, it all happened very quickly.”

Nature Strip jumped quickly, settling on the speed racing down the centre of the course before hitting the lead with about 300m to go. The only horse that challenged him was a loose horse, who’d dumped the rider out of the gates. The Royal Ascot caller then declared: “But it is the great Australian sprinter, Nature ‘Stripe’ and James Macdonald. And look how far they’ve won by!” It mattered little as Nature Strip had raced away to a brilliant win and earned the world’s number one sprinter ranking.

“It was a fairy tale. Euphoric!” Baker recalled.

“Then the pressure was off, and it was so much fun. We celebrated with the owners in an upstairs suite with the most unbelievable view of the track. It was obviously a very satisfying and, I guess, emotional win for everyone. It is everyone’s dream to have a runner at Royal Ascot and to win it is something else.

Nature Strip had travelled all the way from Australia, and nothing had gone wrong, and he’d won. We were so proud of him. He has such a lovely temperament. He’s one of those amazing stalwart horses who has raced for such a long time.”

Baker said the Royal Ascot experience was unforgettable for so many reasons, including having part-owner, Jack Van Duuren there to watch and celebrate with the Nature Strip team. Mr Van Duuren had been diagnosed with cancer three days before the 2021 The Everest and was given only weeks to live. But Nature Strip gave Mr Van Duuren a reason to live. Only a week before Royal Ascot, he was in hospital but decided to check himself out. “I am going to fly to England because I am going to watch my horse race at Royal Ascot!” he declared. Mr Van Duuren was in a wheelchair but along with his wife Sue, family and close friends including part-owners Rod and Marie Lyons, he made it to Royal Ascot to cheer Nature Strip to a memorable win. “It was very special to have everyone there,” Baker said.

Nature Strip’s Royal Ascot win continued Baker’s remarkable journey in racing. She grew up in New Zealand with a family interest in racing. Her father, Nigel Baker, is the President of the Waverley Racing Club, home of Melbourne Cup winner Kiwi (Blarney Kiss-Malrayvis, by Messmate). Her uncle, Bob Baker, is a jumps trainer and she is related to breeders Ivy and (the late) Bruce Hutton who incidentally owned Gr.2 winner Triassic, and bred several good city class horses from her, including Tycoon Jack (Last Tycoon) who was named after Baker’s brother Jack. The Huttons retired from their farm in 2005 and sold Triassic and the new owners bred ten-time Gr.1 winner and successful sire So You Think (High Chaparral) from her.

Baker studied Equine Studies at university, before switching to veterinary nursing. But racing was always going to be her true calling and she began working as a strapper for trainer Bill Thurlow while still at school in the holidays. In an ironic twist, Thurlow was also Chris Waller’s first employer, although Chris had milked cows for him.

It was her uncle, Bob Baker’s horse Blase (Casual Lies-Daharling, by Dahar) who gave Baker a taste of Australia, when she came with him for the Great Eastern Steeplechase at Oakbank in 2007. Blase had won two hurdles and a steeplechase in New Zealand, racing almost exclusively over jumps before he won the Great Eastern Steeplechase.

“When I got home (after Oakbank), I booked a flight back and told my family, ‘I’m going to Australia in three weeks’. Initially I stayed with relatives in Victoria, and they helped me get a job with a trainer,” she said. “But I only lasted until morning tea on the first day – no one spoke to me the entire morning, and then everyone just left at ‘smoko’ time without telling me anything, not even the daily routine or what time to come back for the afternoon shift. I was a young girl, a homebody who was pretty upset by something that was actually very small but probably overwhelmed by the whole experience. I rang my Dad and he said ‘don’t worry about it, just don’t go back if you don’t like it.’ I was quite happy to hear this advice and I never went back.”

Baker found employment with the Darren Weir stable and was there for more than two years. She gained further experience travelling with the trainer’s horses interstate and met leading Queensland trainer Rob Heathcote.

“I asked Rob for a job helping in his office. I moved to Brisbane and worked for Rob doing some admin work, strapping, and saddling at the races,” she said. Then came the moment that would change Baker’s destiny when she approached champion trainer Chris Waller to ask if there was an opportunity to work for his stable.

“Chris didn’t have anything when I asked, but about a month later, he came back to me with an offer,” she said. “In October, it will be ten years with the stable! I’ve never been approached for a job. I’ve always gone out and asked people for what I want. With Chris, I started out in admin and moved into the role I have now which has obviously developed over time.”

There’s one other big-name horse who can’t be overlooked when talking to someone who has worked with Chris Waller for the last ten years – Winx!

“The thing I loved about Winx was that she was so professional, not just as a racehorse, but also back at the stables behind the scenes,” Baker said. “Once she started to become a racing sensation, everyone wanted a piece of her, media, general public, charities and just day to day fans. Chris was very selective as to who was able to come to the stables to see her because if you said yes to one person, you had to say yes to everyone, and for Chris, it is very important that a horse is able to keep to their routine. Debbie Kepitis, a part-owner of Winx, often referred to me as Winx’s PA as I was receiving so many media requests. Chris did weaken and say yes to Vogue Magazine to do a photoshoot because having a racehorse feature in a magazine with such international reach, and to people outside of racing, was a massive opportunity for all involved in horse racing. But Chris said it had to be on his terms and had to suit her routine. Initially, they’d wanted to do a five-hour photo shoot, but Chris, from the moment we received the email, no matter who they were, five hours was going to be way out of the question. They could only have her for ten minutes at a time, and in three segments which would mean she was out of her box for no longer than 30 minutes. They needed to remember that she was a horse, not a human or a machine, and Chris wasn’t going to take any risks with her. He hadn’t taken any risks throughout her career let alone leading into her final preparation.”

Baker recalled how the Vogue team had set up a huge gold movie type screen as a backdrop which started to flap around in the wind. Just before Winx was due to come out of her box, another horse walked past, saw the screen, became spooked, and started kicking his heels up. It was a worrying time for Waller and his team as there were cameras everywhere, and no one from the Vogue team had worked with horses before. The model there for the photo shoot with Winx had never even touched a horse.

“But Winx came out and she was the perfect model,” Baker said. “She walked to where they wanted her, stood perfectly, pricked her ears, didn’t move a muscle, and after ten minutes, she walked calmly back to her box. After twenty minutes in her box to relax, Winx was brought out for another ten minutes, where she was fabulous again, and after the third time, she was done. She was so professional, and it was moments like these, that made Winx so special.”

Winx (Street Cry-Vegas Showgirl, by Al Akbar) was crowned Australia’s Horse of the Year four times (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19), as well as multiple other titles. She won 37 races including the Gr.1 WS Cox Plate four times, Gr.1 George Ryder four times, Gr.1 Chipping Norton four times. She won a total of 25 Gr.1 races with earnings over $26 million, both world records. She even won the Gr.1 race named in her honour.

“Her last media call was the most memorable,” Baker said. “We often do these mornings on a Thursday before the weekend of a feature race meeting which enables the media to watch the horses work and then do an ‘all in’ with Chris. It’s something we started with Winx, and have since done with a number of horses. For Winx’s last media morning, she galloped on the Thursday morning before the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and one of the owners wanted her to gallop in her racing colours for the photos. Chris hadn’t been informed, and it wasn’t until Winx walked past him in the tower, making her way onto the course proper, that Chris saw jockey Hugh Bowman was wearing the colours. He had been busy with the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and would have had what felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders leading into Winx’s final race. He rang me, I expected to get an earful on the phone, if not be fired but I explained the situation and he calmly said ‘Okay but no more changes please.’ Everyone was on edge with nerves, the owners, staff … everyone. After she’d worked, she stood for the media and posed with Chris, Candice and Umut and then Chris took her earmuffs off so the media could get a better look at her face. The cameras clicking and the noises put Winx on her toes a bit and as she was walking back to the stables, she lashed out and kicked a hole in one of the advertising signs. She’d never done that before, and luckily wasn’t hurt but I guess it was a mixture of feeling well, excited and possibly the tension, too. It just added to the lead up of what was an unbelievable farewell for Winx. Being involved with Winx was incredible, not only Winx but her ownership group and some of the extras that I was also involved with; the Winx book, postage stamp, and even Chris and Stephanie’s invite to the palace for lunch at Windsor Castle with the Queen.”

Baker’s career in racing has only just begun but she already has experiences and memories to cherish forever.

“I feel I am extremely lucky to have the job I have, I am at trackwork one morning a week, in the office and also obviously at the races every Saturday. I feel that I have a good relationship with the staff in the stables who are fantastic and so passionate about the horses, and we have a great team in the office also. I am fortunate to be able to travel to Melbourne for Cup week and the Gold Coast for Magic Millions with Chris and Charlie and in the most intense or nerve-racking moments Charlie always lights up our day and provides us with so much entertainment and fun; I am lucky to be able to call some of my workmates my closest friends and Australian family.”

Does she have any advice for anyone considering a career in racing?

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions, a lot of questions. Follow up on every person you meet, because you never know where that connection will lead you to. Racing is a people business, not just a horse business,” she said. “You meet so many people in racing and make wonderful friends, which I have been so lucky to do, and many of these friends become like family.” BB