Although Michael Walker has his fair share of critics throughout his career, few could deny his natural talent and riding ability

Michael Walker was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, in the central districts of the North Island, although his family later moved to Waitara. Growing up, a young Walker wanted to be a boxer and then a league player because he was quite big when younger. His passion for horses then kicked in and the teenager decided he wanted to be a jockey. Michael's uncle knew Colin Jillings who was a Champion trainer in New Zealand and took him to his stables one morning. He met Colin and who looked at the scrawny boy from head to my toe and said he couldn't make it as a jockey as his feet were too big. Little did he know that Walker had his cousin’s boots on and they were five sizes too big.

At the age of 11, Walker approached noted trainer Allan Sharrock, asking for work with his horses. Sharrock gave him regular work after school because he just kept on turning up. A week later Walker was on a horse and two weeks later he was riding gallops and then three weeks later riding in jump outs. Eventually indenturing him as an apprentice, he arranged a special dispensation for Walker to start riding in races at age 15 instead of the usual starting age of 16. The Kiwi would go on to win some of the biggest races on both sides of the Tasman, like the New Zealand Derby three times, two Australian Cups and a memorable Caulfield Guineas triumph in 2017.

In his first year as an apprentice (1999-2000), Walker had an astonishing 131 wins to not only win the apprentices’ championship but the jockeys’ premiership as well (his first of three). While apprenticed to Sharrock, Walker won 653 races, mostly in New Zealand (a record 631 wins), but also in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Macau. He broke the New Zealand record for most wins in a season (182) during the 2000-01 season

Walker's first two major wins came via Cambridge trainer Graeme Rogerson, winning the 2001 Wellington Cup with SMILIING LIKE. He would then ride HUGE DEMAND to win the Hawkesbury Cup. In 2002, he would win two major two-year-old features on the Allan Sharrock trained GROUT in the Manawatu Sires Produce and the Sires Produce Stakes at Ellerslie. Walker would then be associated with the fine Anna Herbert trained galloper TIT FOR TAT, winning the 2003 Gr.1 Telegraph at Trentham and the Waikato Sprint. In 2005 Walker would be fortunate enough to mount up on the brilliant three-year-old colt DARCI BRAHMA to claim the Hawkes Bay Guineas and NZ 2000 Guineas as well as the Otaki-Maori WFA Classic.

In April 2004, at age 20, he became a fully-fledged jockey. Walker celebrated the next day by riding five winners at the Woodville-Pahiatua Racing Club's meeting in southern Hawke's Bay. Despite not riding in New Zealand for three-quarters of the season, Walker finished with 107 wins, only seven behind Matamata jockey Leith Innes, who won the 2003–2004 premiership. However, he was awarded the apprentice of the year title for the season. Wanting to further his career, Walker announced in May 2004 that he was moving to Melbourne, Australia, following in the footsteps of other champion New Zealand jockeys, such as Midge Didham, Greg Childs, Brent Thomson, Shane Dye, and the Cassidy brothers, who had made their names overseas.

Walker left with the blessing of Sharrock and the New Zealand racing fraternity. He made an immediate impression a few days after moving to Victoria, when he rode a 30-1 shot MONDE SPECIAL to win the Warrnambool Cup. A couple of weeks later, he rode CHLOE WITH CLASS to win at Moonee Valley to record his first metropolitan win and followed that with a treble at Bendigo on 20 May 2004 on LORD ORB, SWIFT RULE, and SCOPARI.

His ride on DANESTORM to win the Brisbane Cup in June 2004 was hailed by the media. He was a horse that raced up on the speed and Walker ended up with a beautiful run and beat the favourite. However, he then went through a period of poor form, and wins were few and far between. In 2005, Michael returned to New Zealand and became a stable rider for leading Matamata trainer Mark Walker. With that deal, the winning feeling returned, and in March 2006, he produced a perfectly timed ride on PENTANE to win New Zealand's richest handicap, the Auckland Cup.

On 20 May 2008, Walker was seriously injured while pig hunting in Taranaki when he fell down a 10-metre-high bank. He was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital and then transferred to Auckland City Hospital with serious head injuries. He scored a win in only his second ride after his accident at Matamata on 4 December 2008.

In 2009, Walker notched the fastest 1000 wins in New Zealand when riding home TE AKAU ROSE at Te Rapa. Walker became the 20th jockey to ride 1000 domestic winners and broke Lance 0'Sullivan's record for the time taken - nine vears, five months and two weeks. Walker subsequently struck more success, partnering with MILITARY MOVE to secure victory in the 2010 New Zealand Derby; however, significant wins in major races eluded him for the next four-year period.

The NZ Derby was to be the race that would reignite his career, linking up with the fine McKay trained colt PUCCINI in 2014. Returning to Australia, Michael proved successful once again, victorious on SPILLWAY in the 2015 Australian Cup and in 2017 on MIGHTY BOSS in the Caulfield Guineas for trainer Mick Price. The Kiwi hoop piloted Mighty Boss to victory, narrowly edging out KEMENTARI to salute as a $71 winner after coming off the ballot. Walker was thrilled with the result after years of serious injury and recovery.

He would then win another Australian Cup for team Hayes on HARLEM in 2018 and the Queensland Guineas on SAMBRO for Chris Waller. Michael Walker also secured a win on TAGALOA in the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes, then returned to New Zealand to claim a third Derby win aboard SHERWOOD FOREST for trainer Tony Pike. His last major Stakes victory would come via the Written Tycoon filly ODEUM, an upset winner in the 2020 Thousand Guineas.

Walker put behind him crippling hip injuries as well as the damage of publicly admitting he rode in Melbourne with cocaine in his system to return to racing with a new, more mature attitude to life. That included a seven-meeting ban for excessive use of the whip on Melbourne Cup runner PRINCE OF ARRAN in 2019. But the controversial and sometimes flawed genius continued on, poking out is tongue with a Pukana gesture on winning to honour his Maori roots. Officials didn't like it, but Walker, who is of Ngati Porou and Ngati Whakaue descent said the action was not disrespectful and was in fact a show of pride in his Maori culture and in being victorious.

In August 2022, Michael Walker suffered a fall at a jumpout trial meeting at Pakenham when his horse INSAAF cliiped heels and faltered dislodging the rider. He was airlifted to hospital in intensive care and placed in an induced coma to stabilise him. This fall left Walker suffering from a brain injury, and in February 2023, he retired from raceday riding. At the time of his retirement, it was reported that Walker had won 1144 races in New Zealand, including over 2000 with his victories in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Although Michael Walker had his fair share of critics throughout his riding career, few could deny his natural talent and supreme riding ability. From the cheeky kid in Waitara he developed into a champion apprentice in his homeland and a champion jockey abroad, admired by the generation of riders in New Zealand that came after him.