Chris Waller joined an elite club at Rosehill on Saturday when he became just the fifth trainer to prepare 100 metropolitan winners in a Sydney season.
The milestone victory was brought up by two-year-old Velrosso in the Birch And Waite Foods Handicap (1100m) with champion jockey Damien Oliver up from Melbourne to steer the promising colt.
Only Tommy Smith, Brian Mayfield-Smith, Gai Waterhouse and John Hawkes had previously achieved the feat.
“I won’t touch on it too much because I get pretty emotional with things like that, but it obviously means a hell of a lot to me,” Waller said.
“There’s no person more prouder than me to be training in Sydney.”
The 37-year-old has had a meteoric rise in the training ranks since moving to Sydney from New Zealand a decade ago.
Last season he finished with 94 winners in Sydney to be second in the premiership behind Peter Snowden, while this time he has kicked to a seemingly unassailable lead with just over a month to go.
Waller called on Oliver to ride at Rosehill with the senior jockey ranks in Sydney depleted this weekend.
Oliver has combined successfully with the trainer in the past, including a memorable Golden Slipper day in 2007.
Oliver won the Golden Slipper and BMW but also rode the Waller-trained Mr Ubiquitous and Double Dare to stakes wins.
“That was actually my first city double, let alone stakes double,” Waller said.
“And that was huge for me.”
Waller has always held Velrosso in high esteem and was delighted the colt produced the goods at his debut, winning by a head over Able Fast with 2-1/4 lengths to Pink Power in third.
Velrosso was slowly away and raced near the tail of the field before Oliver peeled him into the clear from the top of the straight.
Waller said he would like to have a crack at a big race at some stage in the spring with the colt.
AAP TURF