Premier trainer Chris Waller is looking for his Melbourne Cup horse all year round, but it’s when he sees the famous white bridles turning for home at Flemington on Tuesday, that the Cup “becomes real.”
Waller will saddle five runners on Tuesday, which is not unusual for him in a normal race, but this is the Melbourne Cup.
It is a race that changes your life, Waller can attest after Verry Elleegant won in 2021, even though he wasn’t there, because of COVID.
He will try to enjoy Cup day after months of planning but knows things are out of his hands.
“It is a surreal 3-1/2 minutes,” Waller said thoughtfully.
“A lot of work has gone into it, but I’m watching like everyone else.
“I’m looking for the white bridles when they settle to make sure they get their positions, and at the 400m mark I’m looking for them again.”
“If you see a white bridle [challenging] you get excited.”
Waller is like every punter trying to work out his best chances and it is a mix of history and form that give him his final list.
But it is the feared white bridle that will tell him the real story.
“I think the two from the Caulfield Cup [River Of Stars and Valiant King, which filled the minor end of the prizes at the time-honoured lead-up] are my best chances and Buckaroo is right there with them,” Waller said. “More Felons and Land Legend need to lift.”
“That could change at the 400m mark.”
The past week has been about getting the final checks done after a spring which has delivered him a handful of Cup runners but no guarantees.
Waller knew at the start of the spring he would have a couple of Cup runners but things change quickly.
“I looked a couple of months ago and thought, gee, we might have River Of Stars, we might have Land Legend but the others needed to improve,” he said.
“This was before Valiant King won the Bart Cummings and stepped up. Before Buckaroo bounced back to form and before More Felons put his hand up the first-up and in the Metropolitan.”
“There was Birdman there also, who was bought for the race 18 months ago, and just missed out.”
It has to be analytical for Waller with his Cup horses because there are scans along with races to get through on the path to Tuesday.
“You don’t want to set yourself up for disappointment, every runner has to progress and come together at the right time,” he said.
“You get worried when they go for the scans, but you respect it.”
Waller has come a long way since Warringah in his first Cup in 2009, but admits even a master had to learn the ropes.
“I learned a lot from Who Shot Thebarman [which ran three times in the Cup, a third in 2014 and fifth in 2016 his best efforts], because before him it was hard to even run a place,” he said.
“Barman was a good horse, but the European horses that came over then were sharper. They were really good.”
Waller had his sniff and then came a staying star in Verry Elleegant, who was only confirmed on Saturday before the Melbourne Cup.
“She came along and it cemented in my mind that you need a good horse with a turn of foot,” Waller said. “We have a couple of them this year.”
River Of Stars and Valiant King have shown change-up speed as the races have lengthened this year. They ran second and third in the Caulfield Cup, but both look like the 3200m won’t worry them.
“River of Stars has a turn of foot over 2400m and further,” Waller said. “It’s funny she has got a better turn of foot over 2400m and further than she has over 1400m.”
“Once she is mobile and rolling she can be really sharp.”
River Of Stars will handle the soft track as will Valiant King, who has transformed since the blinkers were added to his gear before the Bart Cummings at the beginning of October.
“He’s just a completely different horse. He looks fantastic, he’s matured now, he’s got weight (on his frame) and he’s fit,” Waller said.
“That Bart Cummings win was dominant. He’s just a different horse, he’s got his confidence. I can’t undersell how important confidence is for a horse.”
Buckaroo has the class factor and the Verry Elleegant preparation.
“She won a Caulfield Cup the year before and he ran second in it last year. She was good in the Cox Plate running third before the Cup and he’s ran second,” Waller pointed out. “He has plenty of weight with 57kg but if he gets the right run, he has the biggest sprint.”
