By Chris Roots
Wizard of Odds: Live Odds, Form and Alerts for all Racing
Even as the man who should take most of the credit for the European invasion of Australian racing, Chris Waller can't believe how far it has gone.
Shining light: Chris Waller's Silverball is a strong chance in the Premier's Cup at Rosehill.Credit: Getty Images
Waller was a game changer. Greats in their sport usually are.
In many ways his way of thinking on sourcing horses and his success with tried European horses led the way. He did it out of necessity rather than looking for group1 winners, which has become the norm. The fact the past five open group 1 staying winners were won by northern hemisphere-bred horse amazes Waller.
"People would have laughed if five years ago you said that. I would have been one of them," Waller said.
The Metropolitan entries show just how far the trend has gone. More than half (53) of the 92 nominations started their lives on the other side of the world. In fact, in the past five years imports from Europe are up more than 400 per cent, but still only account for about 200 horses a year, as trainers and owners attempt to catch up with the Waller stable.
However, imports' winning rates overall are no better than Australian horses. The form guide is now littered with suffixes from around the world. For the past couple of years group1 races have been a battleground dominated by Europeans.
"It is a stark reminder of what we had to do to find horses to be competitive. I couldn't win many races when I started," Waller said.
"We saw the opportunity to get some Saturday class horses that could stay to help us win some races from over there. It worked out good timing because you could buy those horses affordably.
"They won a few races, not just one or two races, they did a good job [for] five and six races. It was an important stage of my career."
Gai Waterhouse observed Waller's growth. She used it and found the right horse.
"Chris did a marvellous job and you look at what your opposition does well and try to do it better," Waterhouse said. "I got Fiorente, won a Melbourne Cup, so it worked well for me." Fiorente cost close to $1 million but the return was many times her investment. But Waller, who has always used a lower cost base, believes it is the exception rather than the rule.
"We can all buy a runner in the Melbourne Cup because they are very easy to market, people will invest in them straight away. But that investment won't last unless you are getting a return on it," he said. "Gai Waterhouse has done it, she did a great job in buying Fiorente, but realistically who is going to sell a Melbourne Cup winner?"
Waller understands the market, which has become more competitive and expensive for various reason, including a weaker Australian dollar. He is moving back towards the local market.
"We have cut back a lot and even started to buy from New Zealand and also buying a few stayers from Australia at the yearling sales," he said. "If I was to be asked if there was a new trend coming, I would say it would be to be moving away from the Europeans and concentrating on the home-bred stayers."
The imports still make up a solid part of the Waller system and at Rosehill on Saturday he will have Soviet Courage and Defrost My Heart looking to continue a winning streak over 2400 metres, while Silverball and Beyond Thankful will run in the Premier's Cup. It is accepted the Europeans are better stayers and form student Rob Waterhouse, who sources international horses for his wife Gai, believes there is another reason they succeed in Australia.
"The handicappers let them in light when they get here," he said. "They win a couple of races because they don't get the weights they should."
"I think there is two parts to it," Waller adds. "Firstly their gene pool or bloodlines is 2000m-plus really, so they are stronger stayers than ours. You can buy a lesser horse with a bit of confidence it will be pretty competitive. The way they train seems to suit the stayers a lot better than the way we train."
Waller has had success in getting a horse to win and kept winning. Soviet Courage has won his past three and Defrost My Heart is staring at a hat-trick on Saturday.
He remembers horses like Hawk Island and The Verminator, an Australian-bred that won a Metropolitan, to illustrate his point.
"They come over with mixed form and they have a couple of soft wins and like any sporting team their confidence just grows. That is a big thing in their improvement," he said.
The Premier's Cup eight runners have seven bred to Northern time.
"Silverball has got the scope to go better than the other horse [Beyond Thankful]. He won a winter staying race in Sydney with extreme ease," Waller said. "Beyond Thankful is in form, but I don't think he could have done what Silverball did to listed company.
"I think Silverball has the class to get to a Metropolitan where Beyond Thankful will get there through toughness."
