He may already have a Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) win to his name but New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller says he still yearns to win the Flemington showpiece as much as anyone.
Waller produced Kiwi-bred Zed mare Verry Elleegant to win the 2021 Melbourne Cup in the hands of New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame jockey James McDonald, the Sydney-based trainer looking to attack this year's feature in numbers, with eight stayers among the remaining 40 in Cup contention.
"The Melbourne Cup is everyone's dream," Waller said after watching most of his Cup contingent work at Flemington on Tuesday.
"It is the race that stops a nation; the world stops now. It's every owner's dream to run in the Melbourne Cup and win the Melbourne Cup."
A major talking point among Waller's runners was Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) runner-up Buckaroo.
Ninth in last year's Melbourne Cup as one of the favourites following his Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) second placing, Buckaroo was a "50-50" chance of running next Tuesday, Waller saying the stable would take an "analytical approach to ensure he's capable of winning", with the horse's ownership group to have the final say.
"Buckaroo is well. He's come through the Cox Plate run in good shape," Waller said.
"He's been through his scans; he's passed his scans so that means he's eligible to race in the Melbourne Cup should his owners desire. If not, he can run in the Champions Stakes over 2000m.
"He had a tough race last year and he didn't come through it that well but there were reasons for that. He covered a lot of ground and came from a long way back and just peaked on his run.
"We're fairly comfortable he can run the two-mile distance but he's a fairly important horse to us. He's been with us for a long time so we've just got to make sure we get it right."
Waller said a decision on whether Buckaroo runs won't be made till Saturday, in line with the decision-making timeline for Verry Elleegant when she won the race.
Asked how Buckaroo would run if he started, Waller said: "He'd go close; he'd go very close. Hard to quantify; the Melbourne Cup is hard to predict. He just about pulled off the biggest weight-for-age race in Australia on Saturday but another 1200m is slightly different territory."
Waller's other remaining entries are Gr.3 Bart Cummings (2500m) winner and Caulfield Cup-placed Valiant King, Sydney Cup-placed Caulfield Cup runner-up River Of Stars, More Felons, Birdman, Land Legend, Etna Rossa and Star Of India, though the latter paid are unlikely to gain a start in the race.
Waller described Valiant King as a "properly-matured horse, in great form and racing full of confidence".
"Valiant King has come through the Caulfield Cup really well," he said.
"On that occasion he drew closest to the outside barrier, so we opted to go back, ride for luck and make sure he finished off well and he did exactly that.
"Jye McNeil was aboard, and when he won at Flemington earlier in the month. Jye is buzzing. He rode him this morning and said his action was fantastic. He's a happy horse. He came off the track squealing so all great signs. We're very happy with him."
Waller was thrilled with River Of Stars' second placing to Half Yours in the Caulfield Cup and her condition through that run.
"She's had a similar preparation to Valiant King. Her run in the Caulfield Cup was tremendous. She came from well back as well and beat them all except one," Waller said.
"The two-mile distance will help her. She's had the right preparation and she's really well."
Waller refused to rank his Cup contenders but expected More Felons to relish the step up in distance.
"More Felons will love the two-mile distance. They went too slow for him in the St Leger in Sydney but we've finally got him fit and up to his right distance so he's a surprise package," he said.
"Birdman is on the way up. He didn't have a lot of luck in the Metropolitan through the draw and the Caulfield Cup draw wasn't much better but he still finished off well. Two miles is a query with him but he's tracking along well and has prepared well for the race.
"Land Legend worked much better this morning. Steven Arnold was aboard this morning. We took the earmuffs off for the first time in a long time and Steve said he relaxed well.
"We've changed his bit as well. He needs to improve but he didn't have much go his way in the Caulfield Cup. We know he'll run two miles. This time last year, he was one of the favourites and we think he's ready to improve."
Waller, fresh from his Cox Plate success with Via Sistina last weekend at The Valley, has a strong hand on Derby day at Flemington but will head to Randwick on Saturday to watch a team headed by $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) favourite Autumn Glow. – Trackside.co.nz
