Five years ago Chris Waller experienced the highs and lows of Group One racing for the first time.
The up-and-coming trainer watched in shock as outsider Triple Honour swooped on three-year-old champion Weekend Hussler in the Randwick Guineas, forcing the judge to use the photo-finish.
The decision eventually went the way of the favourite Weekend Hussler by a nose.
“I was in shock,” Waller said.
“It looked like a dead heat and I thought we’d won our first Group One.”
Waller’s first Group One came a month later when Triple Honour outstripped his Randwick Guineas performance to win the prestigious Doncaster Handicap.
Things changed rapidly after that breakthrough with former New Zealander Waller at the top of the tree in Sydney with two premierships under his belt and an unassailable lead as he powers towards a third.
The Group One winners have also flowed and he goes into Saturday’s Randwick Guineas (1600m) double handed with Sacred Falls and Tougher Than Ever.
The two colts are both Group One winners in New Zealand and have been added to the Waller stable this autumn.
Waller has already taken first blood for the carnival with Shoot Out defending his Chipping Norton Stakes last Saturday and rates his Guineas contenders highly against favourites Rebel Dane and Proisir.
“
