Trainer Chris Waller hits the right note with stable music

CHRIS Waller has a theory that he hopes will have his horses on song for the Melbourne Cup.

Trainer Chris Waller. Picture: Mark Evans

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WE’VE all heard about sportspeople who say they refuse to read newspapers.

But what about the Melbourne Cup horses who are banned from listening to racing radio?

Chris Waller’s Flemington stables have a sound system that is (quite literally) music to the ears of his horses.

It pumps sweet melodies through the stable boxes and has become almost as much a part of the stables as the horse walking machine.

But there are some radio stations that Waller’s horses never get to listen to.

“There is one rule – I don’t want them listening to a racing station,” Waller quips.

“The radio is on the whole day in the stables, with plenty of songs, even though I don’t really know if the horses are listening or not. There is a theory that music helps them to relax and switch off.

Trainer Chris Waller watches Winx at trackwork at Rosehill racecourse. pic Mark Evans

“We are very kind to our horses and then they respond well on race day.”

Overseas studies have shown that playing music to horses can decrease stress and induce a faster post-stress heart recovery.

Waller’s two Melbourne Cup horses, Who Shot Thebarman and Grand Marshal, are seasoned stayers who have heard plenty of stable music throughout their careers.

Whether the music has any effect or not, it is yet another sign of Waller being the ultimate professional.

As Waller took The Courier-Mail on a tour around his stables, it was easy to see how hard work and dedication has turned into big-race winners.

“A lot of stables give their horses a quick tidy-up, we make sure we give all our horses a full groom,” Waller said.

“We weigh each and every one of our horses every Monday, just to make sure everything is as it should be.”

While Waller leaves no stone unturned with his training business, he is also a realist.

Plenty of Australian trainers regularly take their horses to the beach for a swim, swearing that it helps their legs.

Waller was one of them when he worked in his native New Zealand.

But Waller’s training base at Rosehill Gardens, near Parramatta in the west of Sydney, doesn’t make beach trips easy.

“It takes a long time for the tide to come into Parramatta,” Waller said with a laugh.

Originally published as Trainer Chris Waller hits the right note with stable music