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New Zealand trainer Mark
Walker has been issued his trainer's licence by the Malayan Racing
Association (MRA) after finally making his move to Singapore.
A professional trainer in New Zealand for 12 years, Walker was granted a
trainer’s licence by the MRA on Jun 11 after getting stabling facilities by
the Singapore Turf Club.
The 38-year-old comes to Singapore with outstanding credentials, having
notably won the New Zealand trainer’s premiership four times in the past six
years, and given his clear lead in the current season, he is well on his way
to claiming his fifth title.
Training mainly for the Te Akau Racing Stables from his Matamata base,
Walker recently rewrote the history books in New Zealand when he broke a
17-year-old record held by Dave and Paul O’Sullivan for winners (104) in a
season when he saddled a double on Jun 5 to bring up his season tally to 105
winners.
Walker has trained over 800 individual winners, of which more than 90 are
stakes winners. He has also won 20 Group 1 races, including one in
Australia, the TJ Smith Handicap with DARCI BRAHMA in 2005.
Among his most notable Group 1 wins in New Zealand are three Kelt Capital
Stakes, including back-to-back wins in 2007 and 2008 with champion mare
PRINCESS COUP, New Zealand’s highest stakes earner (NZ$4.23 million).
In Australia, other than the TJ Smith, Walker has been successful on four
other occasions, all in Group or Listed races, namely the Group 2 St George
Stakes (2008) with PRINCESS COUP and the Group 2 QTC Grand Prix Stakes
(2002) with DISTINCTLY SECRET.
Other important benchmarks that Walker has set in his homeland include
becoming the youngest New Zealand trainer (at 31) to win the premiership in
the 2003-2004 season, and establishing a new New Zealand record for most
domestic stakes earnings in one season — NZ$3.71 million in 2008-2009.  |
