Waverley Star was half human. For the third consecutive morning, the chestnut had cantered around the training paddock at Wexford five times (one lap was approximately 300m and most horses did 7 laps), before slamming on the breaks with such force that Lance had almost fallen off, doing a u-turn and heading for home. Paul was in such disbelief that he insisted on riding the 2 year old himself the following morning. Paul stopped after four circuits, thinking that with a small break he might be able to trick the horse into doing six - no way! The horse simply refused. Even if working with a mate, five laps it was and then home, and that's how it stayed for the remainder of his lustrous career.
Waverley Star is best remembered for his race against Bonecrusher in the 1986 Cox Plate, which was later referred to as 'The Race of the Century' (pictured below). He won the Gr1. 1986 Easter TVNZ Stakes at Ellerslie (and produced the fastest 2000 metres ever run in New Zealand, and possibly the world, due to an error which saw the horses run a further 19m), the Gr1. Chipping Norton Stakes in Sydney and Fuji Stakes in Tokyo, before running a very credible 5th in the Japan Cup.
