Glyn Schofield and Chris Waller pose after winning race 7 the Emirates Stakes during Stakes Day at Flemington Racecourse. Photo: Getty Images
Chris Waller is in the reward phase of his career, and he knows it. Sydney's premier trainer led a domination of the Melbourne spring by stables north of the Murray River and, during the Flemington carnival alone, he had six winners, half of which were group 1s.
That took his group 1 tally this year to 14 wins, defining him as the best trainer in the country. Add breaking Tommy Smith and Gai Waterhouse's record for most winners for a season in Sydney last term and it is clear Waller stands apart from his rivals.
"Without getting too emotional, I feel no different to five years ago,'' Waller said. ''Just getting established back then was the tough time, not now. The back-breaking work was five to 10 years ago."
Back then, Waller had a small team but as the quality of horseflesh has lifted, so have the results. His ability to have horses hold their form is one of his greatest attributes. It is shown by Zoustar, Red Tracer and Boban starting favourites in the group 1s they won at Flemington.
Waller leaves Melbourne with the most exciting horses in Australia, in $18 million colt Zoustar and Boban, which completed an undefeated five-run spring campaign by winning the Emirates Stakes on Saturday.
Zoustar and Boban were able to win spring group 1s in Sydney and Melbourne, which is rare.
Boban's rise from a benchmark winner to become the first horse to win the Epsom-Emirates double since Chanteclair 27 years ago is testament to Waller's ability to keep a horse at its peak.
"That's our system - once we get them fit, they stay fit for a while," Waller said.
Waller indicated the best is in front of Zoustar and Boban. Zoustar is set to take him to Royal Ascot, while Boban will step into weight-for-age ranks after his rapid climb to the top.
"They have both come a long way and both have got big futures,'' he said. ''I haven't really wound either of them up to win here or at any stage through their careers. Obviously Zoustar was set for the [Coolmore], but we haven't really given him a gut-busting run yet. Whether we need to, I don't know, but there are exciting times ahead for those two."
Waller is proudly Sydney and was well aware of the success of his fellow trainers from the harbour city. The final tally across the nine carnival meetings at Caulfield, Moonee Valley and Flemington had Victorian trainers land 36 winners, just in front of the 33 that came out of NSW and nine from Queensland.
There were two winners for South Australian trainers and Europeans, with another going to New Zealand's Roger James.
"I'm very proud because we are coming down here and getting results as a group," Waller said. "I was so proud of Gai winning the Melbourne Cup [with Fiorente]; that was the next best thing to me winning it, for me. But, as we see every year, there are cycles and next year we might be saying we have gone poorly."
Queenslander Robert Heathcote also had a trio of group 1s in a carnival to remember, especially after Buffering won the Manikato Stakes and VRC Sprint Classic.
"This is the time of year that everyone is here, and to be a little guy from Brisbane getting those results is great for me," Heathcote said. "It took a long time for 'Buff' to get that first group 1 but to back it up straight away was terrific. He will go to Perth for the Winterbottom Stakes, and hopefully do the job again."
In the riding ranks, Sydney's influence was seen during Cup week, when Nash Rawiller was the leading rider with five wins, including group 1 triumphs in the Myer Classic on Red Tracer and Victoria Oaks on Kirramosa.
However, the year has belonged to the Rosehill-based Waller, but he remains as modest as ever. "It was made by good owners, good rides and a good team at home and in Melbourne," Waller said. "It is just an amazing thing. I haven't really thought about it much but I will be very proud of it when I do, I'm sure."
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