The Race of the Century

By Scott MacLean

It might seem a little strange now, but in the mid-80s New Zealand’s racing bloodstock was amongst the very best on earth and dominated the sport here and across in Australasia. And at the forefront of that 40 years ago were two horses at the very top of their game; Bonecrusher and Waverley Star.

By 1986 Bonecrusher had established himself as something of a cult hero with his prominent shoulder scar and tongue usually hanging out. He reeled off seven straight wins under his somewhat maverick trainer Frank Ritchie including three Group 1’s; the Bayer Classic, New Zealand Derby, and the Air New Zealand Stakes here and two more in the Australian autumn.

Waverley Star – given the prefix “Our” in Australia to distinguish him from an earlier horse of the same name – emerged as Bonecrusher’s biggest rival across 1986 with 10 wins from 13 races under the tutelage of Dave O’Sullivan. And in the one meeting between the pair he’d beaten Bonecrusher over 1200m at Ellerslie in the Admiralty Handicap.

The stage for their next meeting would be across in Melbourne at Moonee Valley, the oddly-shaped track in the city’s northern suburbs. The contest would be the W.S. Cox Plate, a race widely seen as the weight-for-age championship of Australasia.

Having headed to Australia after that loss at Ellerslie, Bonecrusher returned to his imperious form, rattling off two more Group 1 wins at Caulfield. Waverley Star stayed home, also taking two more wins before heading across the Tasman.

The pair were installed as favourites for the race, and both carrying 57kgs behind only the top-weight Hawera-trained The Filbert. Other horses of note included Roman Artist, the runner-up the previous year, and Dandy Andy who would score an upset win in the Australia Cup two years later.

On the back of hype not seen since Kingston Town went for his third Cox Plate in 1982, the field jumped under grey skies. Both heavyweights had their usual jockeys aboard; Gary Stewart and his distinctive left-handed whipping style was on Bonecrusher while O’Sullivan’s son Lance was atop Waverley Star.

As the field left the straight Roman Artist took up the lead, with Waverley Star midfield and Bonecrusher in his usual place at the rear. But at the 800m Stewart made his move, pushing Bonecrusher around the field towards the lead. O’Sullivan immediately countered, and in commentary veteran caller Bill Collins, who had infamously proclaimed “Kingston Town can’t win” in 1982 before the champion did just that to claim his third successive Cox Plate, noted it too.

Collins’ next words came as the pair blazed past Roman Artist as the crowd roared; “Here come the New Zealanders. Our Waverley Star and Bonecrusher, they’ve raced to the lead 600 out. Have they gone too early?”

What followed was racing theatre at its finest, as the two horses cleared out from the field and settled into a duel for the ages. Rounding the top turn Waverley Star on the inside had a slight edge with both jockeys on the whip, and he was still ahead entering the short final straight. But Bonecrusher refused to give in, doing just enough over the last 100m to get up by a neck.

Collins’ commentary finished with five words any racing buff would know; “But the two great New Zealanders have come away on the turn, Our Waverley Star a half-length Bonecrusher. The big red won’give in! Drought running on, Bonecrusher responds to the whip, the roars of the crowd! He races up to Our Waverley Star a hundred out. Bonecrusher, Our Waverley Star stride for stride nothing in it, Our Waverley Star the rails Bonecrusher the outside and Bonecrusher races into equine immortality!”

People quickly realised they’d just witnessed an epic contest, and it was quickly dubbed “The Race of the Century”, a moniker it still holds today.

Bonecrusher would head to Japan for a tilt at the Japan Cup, but contracted a virus that not only ruled him out, but nearly killed him. He would recover though, and claim the Australian Cup in 1987 defeating Melbourne Cup winner At Talaq in a brutal contest down the finishing straight. His final win came at New Plymouth in 1988 before running third at that years Cox Plate to Taranaki star Poetic Prince and 8 th at the Japan Cup, and was retired in 1989 when the extent of the heart problems he had acquired from that virus attack became known.

Waverley Star also headed to the Japan Cup, placing fifth. But his form deserted him and he only won three more times before being retired in the winter of 1989. But both horses would live long and happy retirements and could barely be separated in death, passing away within weeks of each other in 2015, both aged 33. Bonecrusher lies under a statue of himself at Ellerslie, a course he won on five times.

Two horses at the pinnacle of performance, linked by one of the greatest contests ever witnessed.
You can watch it all here.

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This year’s Cox Plate takes place as part of the Melbourne Spring Carnival this Sunday. For the first-
time in its century-long history it will be run across town at Flemington as Moonee Valley undergoes
an extensive renovation.

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