By Warwick Barr
Chris Waller's template for group 1 excellence points to a sense of timing with She's Clean, the least favoured of his three runners in the $400,000 Tattersall's Tiara at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
But the master Sydney trainer figures Red Tracer deserves her favouritism as he strives to equal his best group 1 haul for a season in the weight-for-age race for fillies and mares - the final race at the elite level for the season.
Has Chris Waller timed his run perfectly with She's Clean for Saturday's Tatt's Tiara at Eagle Farm?Credit: Jenny Evans
Waller is chasing his ninth group 1 win for 2013-14 after the stable benchmark was set last year with Red Tracer's victory in the Tiara.
Experience, backed by numbers, has taught Waller to become a meticulous and advanced planner in his drive to deliver results at the top level. He makes a strong case that She's Clean fits the profile of a Tiara winner much better than her $26 quote would suggest.
Waller again holds all the cards with Red Tracer (left) and Catkins among the fancied runners in the Tatts Tiara.Credit: Pat Scala
"She dead-heated for fifth last year and we walked away from that race saying, 'She wasn't quite good enough to win but, gee, she will be the horse to beat next year','' he said.
"She's got to improve a bit more than what I expected, but she has been set for the race for that reason."
Waller will be Australia's leading group 1 trainer for the second consecutive season. It is an achievement built on modest expectations for a trainer who has rewritten the record books since he trained his first group 1 winner in 2008.
"Win one and work from there," he says of his group 1 goals before each season. "If you can get one off your back at the start of the season, in my mind things tend to flow.
"But one of the things I have learnt is, you need representation."
Red Tracer is already on Waller's 2013-14 group 1 honour roll after winning the Myer Classic at Flemington during the spring carnival.
And in Waller's mind, she lost nothing with her Stradbroke Handicap effort to finish midfield, and he gives her an undeniable chance in what could be her racing swansong.
"Her run in the Stradbroke was fine," he said. "I thought she had no luck whatsoever and could have fought out the finish. Therefore she is going into the race like a last-start winner to my eyes."
Catkins completes Waller's Tiara trio and she is on the third line of betting despite missing a vital lead-up run following a minor setback.