He ran in the 'Race of the Century' and was only just beaten by a fellow Kiwi champion in Bonecrusher

Waverley Star is a New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding who is best remembered for finishing second to the mighty Bonecrusher in the 1986 Cox Plate – widely referred to as the 'Race of the Century’ and one of the greatest races ever witnessed down under. Waverley Star, who was known as Our Waverley Star in Australia to distinguish him from a 1976 foal of the same name, won his maiden race as a three-year-old on 30th November 1985 at Pukekohe. Prior to his first visit to Australia for the Cox Plate, he had 13 starts for 10 wins and 2 placings in New Zealand. After Waverley Star won his maiden he went on a winning spree defeating Courier Bay and Solveig at WFA and the very good miler Matthew Ryan before venturing across the Tasman. He was sired by Star Way (Star Appeal IRE) via the mare Supershow (Great Nephew GB) and trained by the master David O'Sullivan and his son Paul at Matamata. He was ridden by high class, master Waikato jockey, Lance O’Sullivan. Star Way had 18 individual Group One winners.: Sky Chase, Filante, Star Board, Elevenses, Bonanova, Nimue, Smiling Like, Waverley Star, Solar Circle, Shankhill Lass, Starjo, Field Dancer, Ray's Hope, Fraternity, Ark Regal, Just A Dancer, Telesto and Interstellar. He stood for 22 seasons at Windsor Park Stud in Cambridge and some of his progeny were absolute champs.

Bonecrusher was a New Zealand champion, having won most of the three-year-old classics, including the New Zealand Derby. His form continued in Australia, where he won the Tancred Stakes, the AJC Derby, Underwood Stakes and the Caulfield Stakes. In turn, Our Waverley Star had been winning almost all his races in New Zealand in the lead-up to the 1986 Cox Plate. He had won their previous encounter on 23 August at Ellerslie in the 1200m Admiralty Handicap when Bonecrusher finished third.

It was madness in Melbourne, with a huge crowd in attendance expecting a great spectacle. Movement anywhere was hard, as Moonee Valley is a small track with minimal crowd space. In the Cox Plate, he was installed 3/1 second-favourite behind fellow New Zealander Bonecrusher, who was 6/4-on. With 800 metres to run in the feature, Lance O'Sullivan burst Our Waverley Star to the lead with Gary Stewart making a quick decision on Bonecrusher to follow hot on his tail and get right behind him. The two horses then raced well clear of the field on the tight turn, with little between them for the remainder of the race, and at the post, with great determination Bonecrusher fought off the challenge, winning by a neck. The noise from the crowd for those final 800 metres was deafening. The Flibert placed third to make up a New Zealand trifecta. It was, and stlll is, one of the greatest two horse finishes in the history of major Group one races down under. The 1986 W. S. Cox Plate is one of the most replayed versions of the race and one of the most remembered horse races in Australian and New Zealand racing history. From that year on, the Cox Plate grew in stature, from being a small Group 1 race to a major event on the racing calendar. The only time the noise rivalled that day in 1986 was when Winx won her fourth Cox Plate in 2018, beating the Godolphin runner, Benbatl.

Waverley Star won the Fuji Stakes in Tokyo, one of the lead-ups to the 1986 Japan Cup, in which he finished a creditable fifth behind Jupiter Island (GB), Allez Milord (USA) and two other Japanese horses. Our Waverley Star had a further 20 starts after the Cox Plate, for three wins including the Chipping Norton Stakes in March 1987 beating Diamond Shower and Abit Leica. He was then placed second in both the 1987 Rawson Stakes (2000m) and Tancred Stakes (2400m), carrying 57kg, easily beaten on both occasions by Myocard who carried 53kg and 52kg respectively. He had his final start in June 1989, as a six-year-old, and was retired after failing to recapture his best form. Waverley Star died in 2015. Greatness only just escaped the brilliant racehorse but only due to meeting an absolute, outright champion at the peak of his powers, however his name will live on forever because of 'that race.'

RACE RECORD - 34: 13-6-3

EARNINGS - $798,617

Chipping Norton Stakes (1987)

Zabeel Classic (1986)

Fuji Stakes (1986)

2nd 1986 WS Cox Plate

2nd 1987 Tancred Stakes

2nd 1987 Rawson Stakes