Waller has big spring plans for Melbourne - Sydney Morning Herald

While leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller has only a modest base in Melbourne, it would seem any presence in Victoria is a godsend considering the battering his home state has taken from torrential rain.

With a facility of only 10 boxes at Flemington, Waller admits to having the block of stables only half-full but has been impressed by the resilience of Melbourne's metropolitan tracks.

Over the past fortnight, NSW racing has been forced to absorb a staggering amount of rain and city and country meetings have been abandoned. On Saturday at Rosehill Waller could have up to 18 runners and will likely saddle up four favourites on the nine-race card.

However, one suspects that Waller's Victorian arm of the business will be a lot busier next winter. ''While it's very cold in Melbourne, your tracks like Caulfield and Flemington manage to absorb a lot of rain,'' he said. ''We've had a lot of rain in Sydney and we've lost a lot of meetings, which is a real headache when you're trying to plan for a team the size of mine.

''The effect isn't just that you lose a city meeting or a few country ones, it also means trials and tracks are also limited to what you want to do.''

Waller will have only one runner at Moonee Valley on Saturday, English mare Pipette, which will start in the Travis Harrison Cup with leading apprentice Chad Schofield on board. ''She's a nice mare whose a winner in England and in Sydney, and hopefully down in Melbourne,'' he said.

Asked if Schofield, a former Sydney apprentice, would become his Victorian stable jockey, Waller said: ''We're using Chad tomorrow as we believe he's the best jockey we can find to compete in this race, but no, we have no set plans on who rides who, it's just a matter of what the situation requires.''

Waller could have another four starters at Caulfield on Wednesday but his Flemington base is certain to reach its maximum capacity by the spring.

''We hopefully can get up to 20 in Melbourne, but I'll have a good strong team this spring, they'll be seasoned and ready for a Melbourne carnival that goes for a fair amount of time, so you need the right horse to cope with a long carnival,'' he said.

Rain is again threatening a city meeting; Sydney has had little luck after it lost Randwick last Saturday and Tuesday's meeting at Warwick Farm.

Waller can't be stopped winning this year's Sydney trainers' premiership having amassed a staggering 153½ wins this season, three shy of a record. The former New Zealander is well in front of second, held by Gai Waterhouse on 75 city wins this season.