Quality quintet in the hunt for prestigious training award

In the countdown to the 2025 Victorian Racing Awards this Saturday night (9 August), Racing Victoria (RV) has revealed the five finalists in the Most Outstanding Training Performance category, presented by Gallagher Bassett Australia.

Awarded to a Victorian licensed trainer (or partnership) who has demonstrated excellence in their craft throughout the 2024-25 season, contenders may be judged on an individual or collection of performances both within Victoria and outside.

A panel of industry representatives and members of the racing media have adjudicated on the coveted accolade, with the finalists being: Andrew Bobbin, Matt Laurie, Lindsay Park Racing, Ciaron Maher and Chris Waller.  

One of the quintet will be crowned the 2025 winner during Saturday night’s star-studded ceremony in Melbourne, which is hosted by Jason Richardson and livestreamed via the Racing.com digital platforms.    

Andrew Bobbin - Duke Of Bedford

The former NRL player and CNN cameraman celebrated the highlight of his burgeoning training career during the May Racing Carnival at Warrnambool, where his star jumps horse Duke of Bedford completed the prestigious Brierly-Grand Annual Steeplechase double.

After claiming the Brierly Steeplechase (3450m) with a pitch-perfect performance on the Tuesday, Bobbin elected to back Duke of Bedford up in the prized Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) 48 hours later, and his remarkable reserves of stamina helped the seven-year-old put paid to his rivals again by 12 lengths.

Ben, Will & JD Hayes (Lindsay Park) - Mr Brightside

Evergreen warrior Mr Brightside showed he had lost none of his killer instinct with another superb campaign, and his uncanny ability to peak in the country’s biggest races is testament to the brilliance of his co-trainers, brothers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.

For the fourth season in succession, Mr Brightside faced the starter on no fewer than 10 occasions and his astonishing consistency again delivered Group 1 success during the spring and autumn months.

The son of Bullbars excelled over the Flemington mile when winning both the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and Champions Mile (1600m), before returning in the autumn to successfully defend his Futurity Stakes (1400m) title at Caulfield.

Matt Laurie - Treasurethe Moment

Laurie treasured every single moment of the most successful season of his training career, with Treasurethe Moment playing the lead role as the flying filly asserted her dominance in the country’s three-year-old staying ranks.

Her five-start spring campaign climaxed with a sumptuous victory in the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) under regular rider Damian Lane, and after a brief post-spring spell the pair promptly picked up where they left off in the autumn with back-to-back Group 2 wins in the Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m) and Kewney Stakes (1600m).

The homebred daughter of Alabama Express then extended her picket fence to eight with dual Group 1 success in Sydney, where she became the first filly in 19 years to complete the VRC and ATC Oaks (2400m) double.

Ciaron Maher - Bella Nipotina

Maher became the first trainer in the history of Australian racing to break through the $60 million prizemoney barrier last season, and the quite remarkable feats of Bella Nipotina went a long way towards helping him achieve the new benchmark.

Despite enduring a wide passage in The Everest (1200m), the iron mare dug into her deep reserves of determination to beat home the country’s best sprinters at career start number 55.

Maher then got her to peak again a fortnight later as she registered win number 11 in the Russell Balding Stakes (1300m), before the curtain came down on a magnificent career at Flemington seven days later when the daughter of Pride of Dubai ran a typically brave third in the Champions Sprint (1200m).

Chris Waller - Via Sistina

As the man who applied the polish to Winx, Chris Waller is well-versed in overseeing equine excellence but even the master trainer was in awe of Via Sistina’s spring campaign, which culminated in her dispatching a world-class Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) field by an astonishing eight lengths.

Four days after she galloped riderless around The Valley at a dramatic Breakfast with the Best, the daughter of Fastnet Rock broke Winx’s track record in Australasia’s weight-for-age championship. The mare still had the audacity to claim the Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington a fortnight later, before returning in the autumn and adding a further three Sydney Group 1s to an already glittering CV.

The Most Outstanding Training Performance is one of several awards set to be handed out on Victorian racing’s night of nights, with the finalists for the Victorian Racehorse of the Year to be revealed in the coming days.