Twenty-one reasons why Chris Waller will stay tuned

Chris Waller will watch The Everest on TV. Alone. Just like he did with Winx.

Two of Chris Waller’s Everest runners at Rosehill this week. Yes Yes Yes foreground, and Arcadia Queen. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Chris Waller will watch The Everest on TV. Alone. Just like he did with Winx. While the racing fraternity gets into a lather about the richest race on turf in the world, and while the masses at Royal Randwick clamour for a decent vantage point, Waller will find a screen that will allow him to watch his three runners without interference from three different sets of owners.

Huge day for Waller. Again. If he’s running around like a chook with its head cut off, again, it will be in his rush to keep tabs of what’s happening on Sydney and Melbourne tracks.

He has 21 runners at Royal Randwick, all commanding his attention. Three in the $125,000 Benchmark 78 Handicap at 1.05pm. The trio of Arcadia Queen, Yes Yes Yes and Nature Strip in the $14m The Everest at 4.15pm. Five starters in the last, the $125,000 The Spring Mile at 6.10pm.

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Down in Melbourne, there’s the not insignificant matter of sending Finche and Brimham Rocks into the $5m Caulfield Cup, just 15 minutes after The Everest, plus a couple of other commitments that will keep drawing him back to a screen out the back of Randwick.

Twenty-one horses in ten races worth $22,390,000. Twenty-two million! It’s enough to keep a bloke interested in his post-Winx era.

Her farewell came in April at Royal Randwick but Waller has kept up a spectacularly giddy tempo since his superstar’s curtsy and bow.

“This is more enjoyable than what we went through with Winx,” Waller said. “There’s less pressure. There’s a still a lot of pressure but it’s not as acute because with Winx it was one horse, one team and we had to get it right. We had to. If you’ve got three horses in a race, they can’t all work out. You’d love them to but in The Everest, I’ve definitely got two horses who aren’t going to win. I’m more relaxed than I was with Winx. No doubt. She took things to a whole new level, a level I’d never been to before and will probably never get to again.

“If I do get there again, I’ll have been there and experienced it. Whatever happens, happens from here. I’ve spoken to (Winx jockey) Hugh Bowman about it. Winx has gone. You shrug your shoulders and get on with life.”

None of the owners banking on Waller’s continued expertise would care about any post-Winx let-downs.

“You’re always aware of the importance of the result of a race like The Everest to slot holders and owners and the punters,” he said.

“That responsibility is still there. That’s a big deal. You just keep doing everything you can to make sure the horses are prepared to the best of their ability. That they get there safely. You go through every race tactically to make sure you have every base covered from barrier draws to track conditions and the distance of the race. Once you’ve done all that methodically, you can rest and enjoy the race to some degree.”

Asked about any hangover from the intoxicating Winx era, Waller said at Rosehill this week: “I guess it’s like being a mum with babies. You’ve still got others to get up to after a big day. You get a chance to taste the hangover when you’ve got so many horses and so many things to look forward to. We’ve got young stars in the stable who hopefully have a lot of good things in front of them. I can imagine it would be very hard to be a footy coach and get to the stage where it’s time to stop.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to stop after Winx. You have those days where things can feel hollow and too difficult and you know you’re going to this year’s Cox Plate or Queen Elizabeth with a horse like Winx that is probably going to win. You do have those thoughts.

“But then a new race like The Everest comes along, worth more than any race Winx ever ran, and you think the outcome is even greater in terms of winning it.”

Waller watched only one of Winx’s 33 straight wins from trackside. The rest were discreetly viewed on television.

“I got superstitious,” he said. “And I watch races on TV regardless now. That won’t change for The Everest. I see more. And you don’t have to deal with the emotion. If you watch a race with an owner, it’s too much. Especially if you have three horses in a race.

“You’ve got one owner who’ll want to commiserate. One who’ll want to celebrate. And you might have one who’s just been beaten in a photo finish, and you have to cheer him up. I watch it alone. I watch it properly with the emotion and passion taken out of it. And then I can read the race properly for anyone who wants to know whether any given horse did or didn’t win. We actually have white bridles on our horses so I can see which horses are ours.

“That’s what I’ll be looking for. That’s what I can pick up on TV. You watch. The white bridles are easier to pick up than the jockey’s colours. That’s why we have them.”