Sophie Baker Behind The Scenes

by Trevor Marshallsea

At Chris Waller Racing, it's a matter of pride that in a sport once so male-dominated, there's a team of women playing a vital role in keeping the machine humming behind the scenes.

And up among the front-runners is a woman who’s eaten, slept and breathed racing and thoroughbreds most of her life, Sophie Baker.

She’s not only an expat Kiwi like her boss, the pair worked in their early days for the same man, only in surprisingly different roles. Baker, whose uncle and grandfather trained jumpers, worked in the Waverley stable of trainer Bill Thurlow. Her father Nigel Baker, also a keen racing enthusiast, is currently also the president of the Waverley Racing Club. A young Waller had also worked for Thurlow - though not in his stable but at his dairy farm.

Baker studied veterinary nursing at university, but with her true vocation tugging hard eventually turned her part-time stable work into her occupation.

In 2007 a mission to Oakbank, where her uncle Bob Baker’s gelding Blase won the Great Eastern Steeplechase, inspired her move across the Tasman, and after sojourns with a couple of stables she was hired by Waller in an administrative role. That position would soon grow with the stable and its increasing demands. In probably Australia’s busiest racing operation she has one of its busiest roles: executive assistant to the head man himself, while also looking after client and media relations. That’s the quick precis from Baker’s job description, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

It’s hard to believe now, but when she joined two days after Zoustar won the stable the 2013 Golden Rose, Waller didn’t have an executive assistant.

Back then, he had just the 80 boxes at Rosehill. Soon he opened a Flemington stable, and now Chris Waller Racing also incorporates operations at the Gold Coast, Warwick Farm and Mount Macedon, for some 250 boxes in total. This means Waller will spend at least four hours tethered to his computer most days, tending to his horses’ regiments on his intricate computer spreadsheets.

Official records show around 470 horses registered to the stable - not counting those yet without a name. There are also around 100 staff, 70 of whom are at home base Rosehill, where Waller has eight barns of 20 boxes.

“My work varies from day to day,” Baker tells us.

“I’m there as executive assistant to make Chris’s life easier, coordinating his day, arranging staff meetings, stable inspections, client lunches, media commitments, and adapting an everchanging schedule.”

Considering Waller has won the past 14 Sydney trainers’ premierships and 170 Group 1s, and has had horses such as Magic Millions’ most famous product Winx, to Nature Strip, Verry Elleegant, Via Sistina and many, many more, this must be very busy. There can’t be time for much else?

“On Tuesdays I go to trackwork, and assist the team clocking horses and recording feedback from riders,” Baker says. “That’s something I really enjoy - hearing about how they’re working, their traits and their demeanours.

“But probably my favourite parts of the job are racedays - so Saturdays and most Wednesdays. I look after the owners, ensure they have an enjoyable experience regardless of the outcome, make sure they meet Chris and can speak with him and the jockey before and after the race, then helping with the celebrations or commiserations. Thankfully, we’ve had more of the former than the latter lately!”

The meticulous Waller - whose work ethic is so legendary even he says he’s intense - clearly needs someone to cram all of that into her working hours.

But wait, there’s even more.

“I oversee the spellers,” she says, “the breakers and the pre-trainers, when they’re out of the stable, and those coming back frorm injuries who are on specific rehab programs.

“So I make regular farm visits - that’s a part I really enjoy, being out of the office, going to the farms and seeing horses in another environment.

“And from that, I’ve become involved with our rehoming programs for our retired horses.”

Despite the vast size of the stable, it seems none are left behind.

“Whether it’s a Kolding, who won a Golden Eagle and nearly $7 million and is now in the eventing world, or a horse who never won a race, we’re very passionate about finding them new homes,” says Baker, a former avid hunt rider in New Zealand.

“Chris often says, ‘These horses have given us so much; we should give back to them’.

“We have Group 1 winners, who are easy to rehome. Then there are those who’ve had injuries or setbacks, which can take a little longer. We’ve also had horses who are slow, but you still want them to find great homes and enjoy a good life. They’ve all got great personalities, and they’ve been special to the stable in one way or another.”

And finally, you can also see Baker at the Magic Millions and other sales, helping Waller, his chief buyer Guy Mulcaster and clients.

“Chris often says, ‘These horses have given us so much; we should give back to them’.

Waller has an equally individualistic approach to the two-legged members of his all-important team, says Baker, shattering any preconceptions that bigger means less personal.

“Chris is great to work for, very humble and down to earth, wears his heart on this sleeve, and is exactly how he comes across on the TV,” she says.

“He’s the first at the stable every morning. When the staff arrive, he walks through the barns and says hello to every staff member. He knows every single one of their names.

“He’s the first person to pat a strapper on the back or shake their hands after they’ve won a race. He deserves every accolade he gets. He works hard, and he handles the media well - as we saw with Winx, and when Via Sistina threw James McDonald off a few days before the Cox Plate.”

Baker doesn’t much think about the fact she’s a prominent woman in racing. Times have changed since the days when the likes of Pam O’Neil, Beverley Buckingham and Gai Waterhouse were known as trailblazers for the female cause.

But she is delighted to live in an era, and in a sport, where women work and compete with men on an equal footing. And there are many keeping the team running at CWR.

“I’m fortunate to often be seen at the races and sales - as well as being featured in this article,” says Baker, who counts her winning visit to Royal Ascot with Nature Strip as possibly the standout amongst her many highs at the stable.

“But there’s a number of great women involved behind the scenes.

“Clare Heuston has been in the stable a number of years. She not only looks after one of our barns but is also responsible for washing and ironing over 100 sets of colours on a regular basis, ensuring they are looking crisp for each meeting.

“Lizzie Collett is our Flemington assistant trainer, and our office manager Melissa Tyson has been with the stable for over 10 years. Analese Trollope is a big part of coordinating daily trackwork and of course Stephanie Waller, Chris’s wife, is a big supporter of the entire team.”

A leaning towards the female touch, inspired by Baker, has also proven most lucrative for CWR, after some four years ago she became inspired by the Magic Millions’ Racing Women’s Bonus.

“I discussed with Chris the idea of putting together a ladies’ syndicate. Stephanie was also very supportive and very keen to be involved,” she says.

“Katie Page has been fantastic in promoting it, and I thought it was a great way to involve women in what is often known as a male-dominated sport.”

The move struck gold at the first attempt. Waller Racing and Mulcaster paid $150,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast sale for a yearling by No Nay Never.

As would be the case with all four of their MM Racing Women’s Bonus buys, she was a filly given a bubbly-sounding name, matched by silks with a champagne glass motif: Madame Pommery.

She would win the Group 1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield, $867,000 in prize money, and then be sold for $2.7 million at the MM National Broodmare Sale of 2024.

“It’s been amazing,” Baker says. “Our Racing Women’s Bonus horses have seen a number of women become more passionate about racing, sometimes even more so than their husbands.

“We’ve had about 40 women involved, there’s WhatsApp groups with great banter and lots of fun. As Christine Cook - who’s a big supporter of the women’s syndicates that we’ve put together - said, ‘Women used to go to the races as the handbags; now, they’re just as important and just as involved as the men’.”

After such success through its 12 years of operation, the bonus scheme has put women very much front and centre in our game - much like Baker herself. n

It’s been amazing. Our Racing Women’s Bonus horses have seen a number of women become more passionate about racing, sometimes even more so than their husbands.”